


Breaking Glass

by thefrenchmilitary



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Hamilton AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2019-06-19 21:19:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15518799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefrenchmilitary/pseuds/thefrenchmilitary
Summary: The thought of your arranged marriage daunts you like a nightmare, but as time goes on the inevitability of it grows all the more real. You've all but surrendered yourself to it when a bright young mind comes along to expand yours.





	1. Sewing Together Takes Patience

The needle in your hand moved with blinding ease against the frayed tatters of the dress you mended. It made precise contact with the fabric no matter how many times it was pushed and pulled through. As the thread slowly bound the material together, hums of satisfaction left your throat. If you continued at this pace you could have the dress fully restored by nightfall. 

Unless, of course, you were interrupted. Your movements came to an abrupt halt as your door was flung open with complete disregard. This behavior was typical, but each time you found you had less patience for it. He never even bothered to knock.

“How long are you going to spend mending that dress? You could always send one of the maids into town to buy a new one.”

Your brother stood in the doorway and stared at you in annoyance, as if deciding to fix this dress had somehow ruined his day. Setting your materials to the side, you looked over at him with a neutral expression.

“What does it matter to you whether I buy a new dress or mend this old one? It’s Amalee’s favorite and she personally asked me to fix it.” Getting up from your chair by the window, you faced your uninvited guest head on. “What do you want, Puck?”

Leaning back against the doorframe, he rolled his eyes. “It’s the last day of spring. Fill in the blanks yourself.”

No amount of willpower could stop the groan that escaped your lips. How had the months already gone by? Three seasons of peace flashed by in a second, and the dreadful summer was sure to feel like a lifetime. This time of year always crept up on you like a daunting nightmare. You hadn’t even packed your things.

Rushing over to the closet, you dragged out the largest trunk you had and began throwing clothes inside. The carriage was most likely already waiting if Puck had been sent to summon you. Even though it left a bitter taste in your mouth, you knew you had to leave as soon as possible. Mother would be furious if you arrived even a minute late.

With that thought in mind, you quickly shut the trunk and gestured for Puck to carry it out for you. He begrudgingly obliged and took the heavy trunk in his arms. While he walked out, you took one more look around your room. It would be three months before you’d see it again. Three long, wretched, agonizing months.

As you scanned the room, your eyes fell on the dress you had been meticulously working on. Poor Amalee would have to wait a full season before she could wear it again. You debated taking it with you, but decided against it. It’d be best to keep it in the safety of your room.

Sighing, you walked out into the hall and made your way down the long corridor towards the stairs. A sense of unease filled you as you passed several portraits of deceased relatives as you descended. Their dark, deep set eyes felt like they followed you wherever you went. You hated coming down this way.

When you finally reached the bottom of the stairs, you saw the front door was open. Stepping out, you watched as Puck struggled to get your trunk into the carriage. Gingerly, you began to walk towards them when your mother’s face snapped in your direction. She always knew exactly where you were, even if you didn’t make a single sound.

The displeasure of your tardiness was evident on her face. There were few things your mother valued in this world. One of them was public appearance. That meant being well put together and always on time to your appointments. Because of your forgetfulness she had been forced to distract the coachman from noticing your absence.

Your body tensed as her form got closer. Watching her was unsettling. She had a way of moving that looked more like the was gliding than walking. Her skirts didn’t dare make a single wrinkle as she approached you.

“How old are you?” Her question was icy and strained. You didn’t dare meet her gaze.

“Twenty-two, mother.”

You heard her click her tongue and felt two smooth fingers grab your chin. Your face was jerked forward as your mother forced you to look at her. “And when did you start leaving for the summer?”

A small sigh escaped through your nose. You already knew where this conversation was going. It was one the two of you had often. “When I was six,” you said meekly. As your mother began to open her mouth, you mentally recited her speech word for word.

“So then, sixteen years. Sixteen years of the same routine and you can never get it right. Every time summer comes I tell myself ‘Maybe this is the year. Maybe (y/n) will be on time’, but you never are. I’m not asking you to move the stars and planets (y/n), I’m asking you to be on time for this for once in your life. Don’t you care about your future?”

Your shoulders slumped and you said what you knew she wanted to hear. “Of course I do mother. I’ll do better next time.” She let go of your chin with a dramatic sigh and went back inside to lie down. You were the one being sent off with an insufferable cretin and she was acting like she was the one with the heavy burden.

Stepping out onto the dirt path, you stood behind Puck. “Is everything all set?”

Nodding he gave the carriage a small pat. “The carriage is all set. If you leave now you should be able to get there by sunrise tomorrow.” He took a moment to wipe a bit of sweat off his forehead. “Mother said Lilith will arrive by dinnertime.”

You cocked your head to the side. “You know, you’ve never really told me how you feel about her. What’s she like?”

Puck’s brow creased. “She’s like a puppet and mother is the puppetmaster. In the two years I’ve been courting her I don’t think I’ve heard her have a single original thought. You wouldn’t like her.”

While you would have preferred to form your own opinion on her, for now you would just have to take Puck’s word. The fact that your brother had been seeing this girl since he was fifteen and you hadn’t so much as looked at her made you feel uneasy. Especially when you considered the fact that while you were sent away for the summer, Lilith was also sent away to live in your home for that time. Unless Puck decided to marry her, you might never meet her.

You mentally shook away your thoughts. ”Where’s Amalee? She always comes down to say goodbye.”

“I’m here! I’m here!” At the mention of her name, you saw your sister barrel out of the house and down the dirt path. She stopped right in front of you and threw her arms around your form. “Don’t forget to write every week! I’ll be sure to tell you everything that goes on here!”

Laughing, you returned her hug and smoothed down her hair. “Take care of yourself, alright? I wasn’t able to finished fixing your dress, but I promise I’ll work on it as soon as I get back.”

Breaking away from the hug, she shook her head. “That’s alright, I’ll just have the maids fix it. You shouldn’t think about my silly dress while you’re on Summer Leave. I can’t wait until next year when I’m old enough to go on one.”

Crossing your arms, you did your best to look stern. “You should enjoy being thirteen while you can. Don’t grow up until you have to.”

In society's eyes, you were more or less an adult when you turned fourteen. This was the age parents began scouting out potential spouses for their children, and the age when young girls began to go on Summer Leave with the family of the boy courting them. 

But when it comes to the oldest daughter of a couple, there were ways to bend the rules. Since only sons could inherit wealth and property, it was imperative that the oldest daughter be married up, which moved the hunt for potential suitors up.

Which is why you’ve had to go on this dreaded Summer Leave since you were six.

“Besides, I’ve told you over and over again that I don’t enjoy a single second of being away,” you continued. “If you truly look forward to this as much as you say then I hope mother finds you a good match,” 

“I’m sure she will,” Amalee said with a naive innocence. “There’s nothing she wants more than for all of us to have successful futures!”

Your eyes involuntarily found Puck’s and the two of you shared a moment of mutual unease. You absolutely hated the man your mother had picked out and Puck merely tolerate Lilith. If this pattern continued poor Amalee’s romanticized future wouldn’t be so perfect.

“Well, that’s enough of that I supposed. I really should be going.” You lifted yourself into the carriage and got comfortable in your seat. “Take care of yourselves while I’m gone.” With that last sentiment, you closed the door and felt the carriage move forward in a steady trot. There was a long journey ahead of you and you had absolutely no way to entertain yourself.

Or, so you thought. Upon closer inspection of the carriage, you saw a collection of books sitting on top of the seat in front of you. Curious, you picked one up and quickly flipped through the slightly yellowed pages. It was certainly a long read, but you had several hours to get through it. 

You closed it up and wiped the buildup of dust off the cover. As the title came into view, you nearly opened the carriage door to throw it out. _The Duties of a Wife_ stared at you in dark print and curved letters. Surely your mother had planted this for you. She had been hinting towards her desire for you to get married for months now. In fact, marriage for you and your suitor was unavoidable. It was already agreed between your families that the two of you would one day marry and too many years of planning had been put into your relationship for it to fall apart.

The only saving grace protecting you was the fact that both your families were traditional to a fault. A marriage would only take place if your suitor asked for your hand, and even though there was a myriad of reasons to dislike him, at the very least he showed no signs of popping the question.

And so the struggle between you, him, and your families was at a stalemate. The two of you could see no one but each other because of the plans between your families, but a marriage wouldn’t happen until he proposed to you. Seeing as you both couldn’t be in the same room for longer than a few seconds you were certain you were safe for at least another few years. By that time the pressure from your families would become even more persistent.

Sighing, you set the book aside and looked through the others. _A Woman’s Role in the Home, Serving your Husband, The Elements of a Perfect Marriage, Fertility and Motherhood: Bringing Life into the World_. Well, it was clear your mother lacked a sense of subtlety. You set each book aside and placed your head in your hands. You could handle her pushing for your marriage, but now she was starting to throw children into the mix. She was truly out of touch with reality.

Lifting your head, you got into a comfortable position and closed your eyes. You didn’t even realize you had fallen asleep until you felt your body lurch forward as the carriage came to a stop. To say the movement startled you would be an understatement. Your heart beat loudly as your limbs flailed in each direction to keep you from falling. As you composed yourself, you moved the thick curtain away from the coach’s window.

You noticed the morning rays of sunlight peeking out from behind the horizon. The sky was tinted in light blue and orange, making the world look peaceful and new. You must have been out for hours if it was already daybreak. A feeling of dread passed through you as another look around confirmed your suspicions. You had arrived at the Jefferson Manor, meaning you were in for the worst three months of your year. You let the curtain fall back into place as you smoothed out your hair and dress. Just as you were finishing up, the carriage door opened and let in the cool morning breeze.

“It certainly took you long enough, beautiful.” His voice grated your ears and made your body heat up in anger.

“Spare me your empty compliments, Thomas. We both know the only person you consider beautiful is yourself.” You looked away in irritation when your eyes landed on the discarded pile of books on the floor. Thomas would never let you hear the end of it if he saw them, so you quickly took them in your arms.

“Are you still angry about last year? I told you it was an _accident_ when I dropped that bucket of mop water on you.” Even though you weren’t looking at him you could sense the smirk on his face. You turned to face him and confirmed your suspicions. Not only was he smiriking, but he was holding his hand out towards you. 

Lifting your chin, you huffed. “Right. Some accident.” Completely ignoring his hand, you jumped out of the carriage with your books. “Make yourself useful and get my trunk to my room.”

Thomas glared at you in annoyance and snapped his fingers. One of the many attendants waiting outside scrambled to grab your trunk. “Don’t forget who’s house you’re in. You don’t make the orders around here,” Thomas reminded you before storming off into the Manor. If there was one thing Thomas Jefferson hated it was being told what to do. 

Tisking, you made your way inside as well. You knew the Manor like the back of your hand and didn’t need any help getting to your room. It was on the very top floor, three doors away from Thomas’ room. The arrangement certainly wasn’t your idea. 

Several maids and servants buzzed around inside, much more than you were used to seeing. Something important must have been going on to cause such a frenzy. As you approached the stairs, the maid polishing the marble steps quickly moved aside and gave you a polite bow. Nodding back in acknowledgement, you made your way up the elegant, winding staircase. The Jefferson Manor was much larger than your own and, to your delight, never had unsettling paintings of long deceased relatives hung about. That was the only positive thing you could ever find about this place.

As you reached the second floor, you nearly ran straight into someone. Blinking up at them, you saw it was Peter Jefferson, the owner of the Manor. “Oh, please forgive me, Sir. I didn’t see you.” You curtsied respectfully and waited to be addressed.

“Don’t dwell on it, I was in a rush myself. Jane will be returning from her relatives home soon and I want everything around here to be spotless.”

Well that explained why the staff was so busy. Not knowing what else to say, you excused yourself with another curtsy and hurried away. Speaking with Thomas’ father always made you uncomfortable. You could never think of anything to say. As you continued through the Manor, sigh of relief escaped you when you finally reached your room on the top floor.

Opening the door, you threw your books into the desk drawers and sat on the corner of the bed. The attendant with your trunk would be here any second now. You took the free time you had to look around your room.

The layout was more or less the same as you remembered, although you noticed the bed mattress had been replaced with a newer, softer one, and the once white walls were now a pale blue. These changes were certainly the work of the Lady of the Manor. She was always changing little things here and there.

There was a knock against the open door as the attendant with your things arrived. You instructed him to leave the trunk by the closet and that you’d take care of it from there. He did as you ordered and left the room with a quick bow. It felt strange to have the Jefferson’s attendants treat you so formally. It made the reality that one day they would also be your attendants all too real.

But there would be time to think about that later. For now, your objective was to stay as far away from Thomas as possible. If you planned your day right you might not need to see him at all. If his schedule was the same as last year, you could go down and spend the morning in the garden before stopping by the small dining room for lunch. Then you could visit the stables and finally the library. 

You nodded to yourself as you planned out your day. Thomas would be working in his study all day and after getting something to eat he’d go out on the patio and enjoy several glasses of wine. You probably wouldn’t have to see him until dinner. Clapping your hands together in content, you got off the bed and headed downstairs to get some fresh fruit for your walk in the garden.

As you made your way down several stairs and halls, a voice stopped you as you passed the open doors of the library.

“Miss? You dropped this earlier.”

Your shoulders tensed as you peeked inside the library. A young man you had never seen before was standing by a bookshelf and held the book in his hand out towards you. Hesitantly, you stepped inside the library and approached him. The closer you got, the more the corners of his lips turned up. It was clear he was trying to hold back his laughter.

“The Lord of the Manor told me Thomas’ betrothed was coming, but isn’t it a bit early to be thinking about children? The two of you aren’t even officially married.”

The man’s words made a blush creep onto your cheeks. “What?!” Taking the book from his hands, you felt your cheeks burn even brighter. Of all the books that you could have dropped why did it have to be _Fertility and Motherhood: Bringing Life into the World_ ? It must have fallen out of your grasp when you made you hasty escape from the Lord.

Tucking the book under your arm, you faced the man as best you could. “The book is my mother’s, not mine. And for the record Thomas and I aren’t betrothed, much to our parent’s dismay. He hasn’t proposed yet.” You tucked a strand of hair behind you ear as you tried to calm your burning cheeks.

The man’s brow furrowed. “Really? I was told you two have been promised to each other since you were children.”

You rolled your eyes. “Much to both of our displeasure. The marriage has been arranged, but because of tradition our parents still want Thomas to propose. He keeps putting it off because we can’t stand each other.” You were so wrapped up at your annoyance with the situation that it took you a while to realize you had said too much. “Sorry, forget I said that.”

The man crossed his arms. “Why? It’s clear neither of you want this marriage. Not that I blame you. Even I was shocked when I was told about you since there’s no sane person one this planet who’d want to marry Thomas.”

“Look it doesn’t matter what I want or what Thomas wants. Too much planning has gone into this union and no matter how much we push against it our parents won’t listen. Whether we like it or not the fact of the matter is that sometime during the next few years Thomas and I will get married and quite frankly our arranged marriage is none of your business so please, forget that we had this conversation.”

Turning on your heel, you exited the library without giving the man a single glance. Your reality wasn’t something you liked to talk about and right now you needed to get to the garden and forget your troubles.


	2. Planting the Seeds of Our Promise

You never realized how easily the hours slipped by when one was in solitude. The various flowers and bushes lining the vast Jefferson estate made you lose yourself in a peaceful haze that only the growling of your stomach could snap you out of. The hectic morning you endured made you forget all about breakfast, so by this point in the day you were sure your stomach was ready to digest itself. It was time for a well deserved lunch.

Taking one more moment to admire the array of flowers in front of you, you turned back and retraced your steps to the backyard patio. As you got closer to the well shaded area, a familiar figure began to take form in one of the wicker chairs by the small patio table. Using your hand to shield your eyes from the sun, you made out the person sitting there. It was none other than James Madison.

James was an old childhood acquaintance. Well, more like an old childhood bully. He and Thomas had been best friends since birth and they were always visiting one another, which meant that you saw your fair share of James growing up. Back then, he was something akin to a small minion for Thomas. He’d snicker whenever Thomas would call you names, assisted in Thomas’ cruel pranks, and made it obvious that you weren’t welcome in their fun.

Back then, you hated James as much as you hated Thomas, but thankfully he grew out of his childish tendencies and became a man in his own right. He still seemed to follow Thomas throughout whatever trouble he got himself into, but nowadays James was much more free thinking. He formed his own opinions and had his own ideas. You had to admit that he had grown on you over the course of your lives.

“James! I didn’t expect to see you out here.” You finally reached the shaded patio and let your hand fall back to your side. James sat up in his chair and set his book to the side once he registered your voice.

“(Y/n), it’s been a while. How have you been?” His legs were crossed and he made no move to get up. He must have been waiting for someone.

“I’ve been fine,” you told him while taking a quick look around. “Are you waiting to have lunch with Thomas?”

He gave you a knowing smile. “He won’t be down for another few minutes. If you hurry along you won’t run into him.”

Sighing in relief, you opened the back door. “You’re a lifesaver, James.” Stepping inside the house, you went over to the informal dining room where you asked one of the maids to bring you something light and fresh. She returned with an herbed cheese and tomato sandwich coupled with a small glass of wine. After setting the food down, she gave you a polite bow and went on her way.

Once you were alone, you took a small bite out of the sandwich and settled your gaze on the table’s small centerpiece. Everything was peaceful until you heard two bickering voices getting closer and closer to your location. Sinking down in your chair, you groaned. For a split second your debated carrying your lunch somewhere else, but when two people rounded the corner you knew you were too late.

“The next time you go into my office without permission I’ll have you fired on the spot!” Thomas’ brows were creased in anger and his hands reached over to shove the man next to him. Your eyes widened as you recognized him as the man from the library.

The man retaliated by swatting Thomas’ hands away. “How am I supposed to organize documents if I don’t go in there?! Are you so blinded by your hatred of me that you’d have me fired for doing my job?!”

The men continued to verbally lash out with their hands balled up at their sides. If someone didn’t step in and deescalate the situation they were sure to get physical. Standing up, you smoothed out your dress and walked up to the pair, careful to keep a safe distance. If they did resort to physical fighting you wanted to make sure you were out of harm’s way.

“Thomas, hot headed as you may be, I’d think you’d know better than to cause a scene like this,” you scolded. Your mother always said that if one was dissatisfied with the help then it was best to handle the situation discreetly, not by yelling. “I doubt your father would approve of this display.”

He stared at you for a second, clearly shocked that you had been in the room, but his shock quickly subsided as he turned his attention towards you. “(Y/n), you only say that because you have no idea how irritating Alexander is.”

The man, Alexander, let out a humorless laugh. “Ha! I’m not the one who thinks he owns the world just because he was born into a rich family! Admit it, the only reason you hate me is because you know I’m just as, if not more, intelligent than you.” The smugness was evident on Alexander’s face as he finished his statement, but all Thomas could do was roll his eyes. 

“You, as intelligent as me? Please, don’t make me laugh.” Fixing the cuff of his suit jacket, Thomas leaned over so he was right in Alexander’s face. “If you’re so smart then how come you haven’t found a way to make yourself a success? If you really are all that intelligent then why do you have to resort to working for me?”

As Alexander’s glare deepened, Thomas walked away, clearly satisfied with his work. Your eyes followed him as he went out the door to the patio. It was time for his lunch with James.

Next to you, you heard Alexander mumble. “I work for your father, not you,” before he stalked away in anger. Before you knew what you were doing, you heard yourself begin to speak.

“Alexander, was it? I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen Thomas so angry before. What did you do to make him hate you so openly?” You couldn’t help but ask the question. In all the years that you had known him you could call Thomas many things: rude, full of himself, shallow. The list went on and on, but the one thing you never pegged him for was rash. At least, he never was when it came to things that mattered, and reputation _definitely_ mattered. You could only imagine how angry his father would have been if he had caught Thomas screaming at the servants like a petulant child. 

Slowly, Alexander turned to face you, but he made it a point to avoid eye contact. “I’ve read some of the plans he has for when he takes over his father’s land and I wasn’t so secretive about my distaste for them.” He rubbed his hands together. “I just couldn’t help it. The things he wants to do, to build, it’s completely ridiculous! He clearly has no aptitude for budgeting, or any compassion for others.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Well it is going to be his Manor one day. Does it really matter what he does with it?” Surely whatever it was Thomas was planning it couldn’t be _that_ bad. Especially not when he was going to living at the Manor.

You weren’t at all ready for the look of shock Alexander gave you. “This isn’t just about the Manor, it’s about the rest of the land and estates the Jeffersons own!” The passion he had for the subject was evident in his voice. “We’re talking school houses, orphanages, several local businesses, and much more all torn down and destroyed in the name of whatever playthings Thomas wants to erect!”

The breath caught in your throat and you felt your shoulders tense. In all the years you had been promised to each other you had never bothered to look into the overall worth of the Jefferson family. All of this was news to you. “Destroying schools and orphanages? Can Thomas really do that?”

Alexander looked at you like you were some kind of idiot. “Of course he can. Once he becomes head of the household he can do whatever he wants.”

Your mind whirled as you tried to process it all. “I...I never knew Thomas’ family owned so much land.” Your body instantly shrunk against the incredulous look Alexander sent your way. 

“How could you not know that? You’ve been promised to each other practically your entire lives! The Jefferson family is the third most influential family in the entire nation!” Scoffing, Alexander looked away in disgust. “Soon to be the _second_ most influential.”

Looking down at your feet, you refused to face him. If what he was saying was true, then he had every right to scrutinize you. You really should have looked into the Jefferson family and what it was they were up to in the world, but even as you thought this you couldn’t help but wonder one thing. “But how were you able to read Thomas’ plans in the first place? Knowing him, no one should have been given access to them.”

Shifting his weight, Alexander began to explain. “The Lord hired me to organize official documents. One of my duties is to arrange all the papers in both his and Thomas’ offices. I also oversee all the imports and exports of the land, but mostly I work in the library.”

Raising your head, you nodded your head as you began to understand. “So you read the plans while you were sorting through Thomas’ papers.” Well, it was no wonder Thomas lashed out at him so openly. He treated those documents like they were his children, and anyone who disagreed with his ideas was someone he instantly disliked. If Alexander continued to push his buttons, you doubted he would last in the Manor for very long. “I know I’m no one to tell you what to do, but I suggest you steer clear of Thomas. If you keep fanning the flames of his anger you’ll be the first person to go once he takes over the Manor.”

Crossing his arms, Alexander’s face grew defiant. “I’m not scared of him. I’ll die before I let him go through with his awful plans. Too much is at stake here and losing my job is nothing compared to what will be lost if no one stands up to him.” After a moment of pause, he spoke up. “But what about you?”

Your brow furrowed in confusion. “What _about_ me?”

“I saw the way your face dropped when I told you about Thomas’ plans. Even if you won’t say it, it’s obvious that you don’t agree with what he’s doing.”

You shook your head. “It doesn't matter whether or not I agree, he’s going to do what he wants either way. Besides, I don’t know the full extent of what he’s planning. It’d be hard to come up with a solid argument on why it’s a bad idea.”

Taking a step forward, Alexander finally met your gaze. “I’m scheduled to organize the offices again in three days. Come with me and I can show you the documents.” He had excitement written all over his face. You had no idea what it was he was planning, but it was clear he thought you could be a valuable asset.

“I’m not too sure about that. Thomas would have my head if I went anywhere near his office.” Taking a deep breath you gave Alexander a sympathetic look. “I admire your drive, but I really can’t help you. I’ve already told you that Thomas isn’t going to listen to me. He’s going to go through with his plans like he always does.”

“But you’re going to be the Lady of the Manor someday. There has to be something you can do.” His right hand shot up towards his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I know you’ll want to stop Thomas once you see those documents. Please, at the very least, promise that you’ll read them. Once you do, if you decide you don’t want to help me, I’ll drop the subject.” Dropping his hand from his nose, his brown eyes shone with sincerity. 

Biting your lip, you weighed the options. Surely nothing horrible would come out of reading the plans. Besides, you believed Alexander when he said he’d let you go if you decided it wasn’t worth your time. All in all, you had nothing to lose. “Alright, I promise I’ll read them, but no matter what happens Thomas can’t know I was in his office.”

A large smile spread over Alexander’s face as he stepped forward and held out his hand. “I promise he won’t find out.” 

Slowly, you placed your hand in his. He lifted your hand up to his lips and gave it a chaste kiss to solidify your promise. You couldn’t help but wonder if you were making the right decision as you watched him walk back towards the front of the Manor. If you got caught it could spell disaster for both of you.


	3. Twisted Passages

_Dearest sister,_

_I know it’s only been a few days since you’ve left, but I already miss you so much! The house seems so much emptier without you. Remember how I told you I’d have the maids finish fixing my dress? Their work is awful compared to yours! The hem is uneven on one side and no matter how much I try to hide it it’s no use. It looks like I’ll have to buy a new one._

_Lilith arrived a few hours after you left. I tried to talk to her, but mother whisked her away! I have no clue what they spend so much time talking about. Every time I ask they tell me that it’s adult matters. I’m so tired of them treating me like a child. In a few more months I’ll be a woman in my own right!_

_At the very least, Puck is paying me a bit more attention. When he’s not busy with mother or Lilith he comes into my room and teaches me how to play chess. Even though I’ve just started I’d say I’m getting pretty good! Don’t you know how to play chess, too? I’d love to play a few rounds when you return!_

_That’s all that’s been going on here. How are things at the Jefferson Manor? I hope to hear from you soon!_

_Your favorite sister,  
Amalee_

You smiled as you read the letter for the third time in a row. Amalee was such an excitable girl, and it showed in her writing. You were glad that she was having fun with Puck and that she was expanding her interests. You’d have to remember to write back to her later.

“Are you _still_ not done with that letter? It’s barely a fourth of a page long. I thought you were supposed to be _good_ at reading.” Thomas’ deadpan sarcasm could dry up an ocean. You could only make out his scrutinizing stare as the book in his hands covered the rest of his face.

Frowning, you folded the letter and set it to the side. “It’s a letter from my sister. Excuse me for wanting to relish the moment.” You perfectly matched his sardonic tone. You heard him click his tongue as he went back to his book. Crossing your legs, you followed his lead and cracked open one of the several books on the table next to you.

The library was the best place to spend stormy days. There were lush, comfortable chairs, a built in fireplace for warmth, and hundreds of books to get lost in. As an avid reader this place was like a sanctuary and it seemed all the more relaxing with the almost hypnotic pounding of rain and thunder coming from above.There was also the added bonus of privacy. For as long as you could remember the only two people who actually bothered to use this library were Thomas and you.

But today there was a third person thrown into the mix.

As you sat next to Thomas by the fireplace, across the aisle sat Alexander. His desk was covered in papers and the pen in his hand moved at an almost blinding rate. He was hyper focused on his work to the point where you could make out the small scratching sound his writing produced. 

Alexander fit perfectly into the peaceful atmosphere. He continued to work, and Thomas and you continued to read. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the small embers crackling in the fireplace. As long as the three of you kept to yourselves nothing could ruin the near sanctity of the room.

“Victor changes sides to save Vanessa, but the real sacrifice ends up being Celia. They realize it too late and all three of them die. Jasmine steals her aunt’s mirror and stops the cult.” Thomas’ voice carried through the space between you and you shut the book in your hands with irritated force.

“Why do you always do that?! Can’t you keep your mouth shut for once?!” You glared at him as he laughed at the fact that he had spoiled the ending. Your eyes quickly scanned the title of his book and the words came spilling out of your mouth in a flash. “The King was lying to them the whole time. By the end of the book they cannibalize him and murder Henry. Joshua takes the throne.”

Now it was Thomas who was irritated. Throwing his book to the side he angrily picked up another. It was the second book in the series. Smirking, you waited for him to get a few chapters into it before leaning in towards him. 

“Joshua impregnates Henry’s wife, Susan. His friends from the first book decide to kill her since they don’t want anyone from the old monarchy taking power. The book ends during the battle between Marcus and Joshua which Joshua seems to be winning.”

Thomas slammed the second book shut. “Why are you so insufferable?! Are you going to do that every time I pick up a new book?”

Huffing, you crossed your arms. “You’re the one who started this. If you had just let me read in peace then you could be doing the same!”

Not wanting to be beaten, Thomas pointed to each book in your pile. “Title character dies, the ship never makes it back, the angel was actually a devil in disguise.” He continued talking and pointing at each book until he had ruined them all. “There. Maybe now you’ll learn to hold your tongue.”

A low growl formed in your throat as Thomas picked up the third and final book in his series. To your displeasure, you never got around to reading that installment. Even worse, you hadn’t yet read any of the other books in his pile.

Setting your book aside, you looked towards the fire in irritation. No matter what you did it always felt like Thomas was three steps ahead of you. God, you loathed him.

“Joshua loses the fight but Marcus spares his life. Susan gives birth to a girl and Marcus passes the child off as his own so the rest of the men don’t kill her. After Joshua dies the daughter becomes Queen.”

Your face whirled towards Alexander in shock. You stared at him with wide eyes as he carefully pointed his finger towards Thomas’ books. “Every character in the story was a figment of the baker’s imagination, Julie and Christopher are found guilty and hanged, and in that last one the big twist is that the narrator is actually the main character’s split personality.”

Your jaw nearly dropped as Thomas stood up in a huff. “I’m going to look into getting a good exterminator. There’s nothing but snakes in this household.” He strode forward until he was in front of Alexander’s desk. “If you ever do that again I’ll force you to work out in the rain.”

Even though Thomas’ voice was steady, it was filled with venom. Your eyes nervously looked over at Alexander. He looked as calm and collected as ever. 

“Sorry, but I’m fairly sure that’s not your call to make. Besides, should I be punished for helping out my future Lady?”

You jumped slightly in your seat. Had he really spoiled all those books because Thomas did the same to you? That was either the nicest or stupidest thing anyone had ever done for you. You were certain Thomas was fuming.

As if to confirm your suspicions, he turned on you. “I’m sorry, have I missed something? Since when are you all buddy-buddy with the help?” His brows were tightly creased and his fists clenched in irritation. You already knew he hated Alexander, so if he suspected you were on friendly terms with him it would drive him up the wall.

Thomas absolutely hated sharing what was his.

It was a sad and irritating truth that, for all intents and purposes, you belonged to Thomas and he belonged to you. Thomas guarded his possessions like a dragon protecting treasure. He let no one near them, and he’d die before he let the help get to them. Especially the help he hated.

“We aren’t buddy-buddy,” you assured him. “In fact we’ve barely even spoken in the few days I’ve been here. Maybe he’s just emotionally intelligent enough to pinpoint an injustice when he sees it. You may be book smart Thomas, but the world did you no favors in the emotional department.”

Thomas sneered. “And the world did you no favors in the beauty, charm, and charisma departments. Even if you say you’re not getting friendly I’d rather not take my chances. You’re joining me later tonight for dinner and we’ll discuss who you can and can’t talk to.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You can’t tell me who to associate with. Besides, Alexander is right. One day I’ll be the Lady of all the workers here. It’s not like I can avoid everyone you’re threatened by.”

“This isn’t a negotiating matter. You will join me for dinner and that’s final.” Before you could say anything else, Thomas rushed towards you and took you by the arm. It only took one swift tug for him to lift you out of your seat. “Come on, I don’t want you in here when I can’t keep an eye on you.”

“Keep an eye on me? You’re being ridiculous! What, do you think I’m going to conspire against you with Alexander once you’re gone?” Jerking back, you freed your arm from his grasp. “You just don’t want me around him because his intelligence threatens your own. What, are you going to forbid me from talking to the chef because he’s more skilled in the kitchen? Am I committing a crime if I so much as dare to look at the stable boy who’s strength outmatches yours? There's a lot of people in this Manor who can do things you can’t, Thomas. Should I just wear a bag over my head and avoid the world?”

“That’s different. Those other workers don’t jump to your defense like a fleet of white knights,” Thomas explained. “I just want the lines between the ranks here to be clear as day. People like us,” he gestured between the two of you, “shouldn’t associate with people like him.” He tilted his head towards Alexander. “It isn’t his place to step in for you. I know that, he knows that, and _you_ know that.”

You looked away when you realized he was right. Workers were supposed to stay out of your affairs, not get involved in them. Even though you still felt Thomas had gone a bit overboard what he was saying made sense. Anyone of rank in this world would have questioned why Alexander had helped you.

“I know, but trying to keep me supervised at all times is absurd. I already told you I’ve barely spoken to Alexander. Besides, it’s no secret that the two of you have a heated rivalry going. He probably spoiled all those books because of the tension between you.”

Thomas looked to the side and let out an irritated hum. “You’re probably right, though I still expect you to join me for dinner. That's an order.”

With that, Thomas left the library and you felt the tension in your body fade away. Everything always got blown out of proportion around him. You had no idea how he had managed to live this long without giving himself a stroke.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to twist my intentions around.”

Alexander had somehow snuck up behind you without you realizing it. You placed a hand over your chest to calm your startled heart. “I’m sorry?”

“You got it right the first time. Thomas had no right to spoil all those books for you, so it was only fair that he got a taste of his own medicine. Even if I didn’t already hate him I still would have stepped in.” Alexander crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. “Besides, I thought he couldn’t stand you. What does he care who you talk to?”

Taking the letter from Amalee you had set aside, you stuffed it in the pocket of your skirt. “In a way he’s right. It’s basic social order. Elites aren’t supposed to speak openly with the help.” There were unspoken rules in society that you had been taught over the years. They were so ingrained into your mind and world that you never realized how harsh it all sounded until you saw Alexander flinch.

“Social order or not we both know he took it too far.” From how tense his shoulders were you could he was bothered by your ‘help’ comment, but it was clear he didn’t want to talk about it. The polite thing to do would be to keep the conversation away from that topic.

“It’s only because he thinks of me as his own personal property. I supposed that’s what happens when you spend your whole life being told who you’re going to end up with. Thomas hates sharing his things and he already hates you.”

“So if he thinks that I’m taking his property it’s twice as bad,” Alexander finished for you. “If he’s this possessive now I’d be surprised if he let you have any friends at all in the future.”

“Thomas isn’t my keeper. I’ll be the one who decides who I associate with.”’

Alexander nodded and without skipping a beat started to excitedly whisper. “Well then, we should start talking about the plan.”

Tilting your head to the side, your brows furrowed as you took in his elated expression. “The plan? What plan?”

His expression faltered as he looked back at you. “I told you I was scheduled to clean out the offices today. You have to read Thomas’ plans, remember? I was waiting for him to leave so we could start talking.”

In all honesty you had completely forgotten about your promise to read the documents. Well, it was more like your brain had purposely blocked out your promise. No amount of promises could guarantee that Thomas wouldn’t find out what you were doing. You didn’t want to think about how angry he’d be if he did.

Still, you were a woman of your word. You spoke through the nervous lump that had formed in your throat. "Alright then. How are we going to do this?"

"I was thinking we'd wait until nightfall to get started. There's a lot less people walking around so it's less likely we'll be caught. I could meet you right here around eight."

You hummed in approval as you thought about his words. "It sounds good enough. I'll wait up in my room until it's time to leave. You'll be here the whole time, right?"

Alexander nodded and, even though you were still anxious about the whole thing, you forced yourself to smile encouragingly. Maybe if you pretended to be calm you would actually start to feel that way. You headed up to your room and began to wait in anguish.

The hours seemed to teasingly slip by. The closer it got the eight, the more you found yourself pacing nervously. You wanting to get this over with so you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. You tried to convince yourself that it was a simple operation: in and out in no time. Unfortunately, you knew that was far from the truth. Thomas wasn't the only one to be afraid of in this situation. You could be caught by the Lord and Lady or even another worker. If _anyone_ saw you it could become disastrous.

As you continued your pacing, the fated hour finally arrived. After taking a deep, centering breath, you left your room and cautiously made your way to the library. Thankfully, Alexander was already waiting in the hall. He met your gaze and gestured for you to follow him. Even though your steps were hesitant you let him lead you towards Thomas' office. It wasn't until you were right outside the door that a mission shattering question entered your head.

“What if he’s in there? Won’t he question why I’m with you?” You were careful to keep your voice a quiet whisper. You didn’t want to risk being heard.

“Wait behind that wall. I’ll go in and signal to you if the coast is clear.”

Nodding, you retraced your steps and hid behind the safety of the large wall. You leaned forward so your right eye had a clear view of Alexander taking a key from his pocket. He used it to unlock the door and he stepped into the office. After a few seconds he walked out and waved you over.

Still a bit jittery about being caught, you jogged to his side and stepped in the office. “Make sure you close the door and lock it. It’d be a nightmare if someone walked in on us,” you told him.

Alexander nodded. “Alright. The documents are in the filing cabinet. First drawer.”

You felt as though you were about to open a cursed sarcophagus as you grabbed the drawer’s handle and pulled. Several papers were neatly placed inside and you carefully took the first few out. Taking a deep breath, you forced yourself to look at them.

_Rosemary Orphanage: 2,561 orphans. Will be relocated to Jersey Orphanage._

_St. Peter’s Orphanage: 6,199 orphans. Relocation pending._

_Robinson Schoolhouse: under-performing students for ten years. Will be merged with Oran Schoolhouse._

The rest of the first page was filled with similar blurbs of writing. Your brow creased slightly as you tried to make sense of it all. Why did so many orphans need to be relocated and why were so many underperforming schools being merged with other schools? Not to mention the fact that the plans were obviously faulty. 

The Jersey Orphanage was a small one. There was no way all the orphans from Rosemary would fit into it. What would they do with the ones who couldn’t be accommodated? There were also over 6,000 orphans from St. Peter’s that had no place to go and as if that wasn’t bad enough even the plans for the schools were flawed. 

The Robinson and Oran schoolhouses were nearly ten miles away from each other. The vast majority of parents wouldn’t be able to get their kids to this new school, and the sudden influx of students would cripple Oran. There wasn’t enough funding to go around and soon Oran would underperform as well.

You mind continued to race as you flipped to the next page. Your mouth fell open when you read what Thomas was planning to do.

_Once unoccupied, the buildings will be torn down._

_Rosemary Orphanage --- > Manor with grand ballroom_

_St. Peter’s Orphanage --- > Polo arena_

_Robinson Schoolhouse --- > Pending_

You couldn’t believe what you were reading. Thomas was planning to destroy orphanages and schools just so he could play polo and throw parties. Your hands shakily placed the documents back in their drawer. “Please tell me these are fake.”

“They’re real.” Alexander matched your shock with disgust. “I can’t tell if he’s a cruel asshole who doesn’t care about anyone but himself or if he’s too stupid to realize the severity of what he’s doing. In fact, it might be a bit of both. And those,” he pointed towards the now closed drawer, “are only a fraction of what he’s planning.”

You shook your head. “Thomas has always been frivolous, but he has to know how crazy this all is. There’s no way any of this will work!”

“It’s like I said. It’s a combination of his stupidity and cruel nature. Even if he realizes that he can’t get all those children where they need to be I doubt it matters to him. They’ll end up hungry and on the street for all he cares.”

As you opened your mouth to respond, Alexander’s eyes went wide. He stepped forward and pressed his palm to your lips. You made a small sound of protest and he hissed into your ear.

“Quiet, I think I hear something.”

His words made your heart beat frantically in your chest. You stood as still as you could before Alexander dropped his hand from your mouth and walked towards the wall. He moved a large tapestry and revealed a small door you never knew was there.

“Someone's coming. Follow me, but be careful not to make a single sound.”

You didn’t need to be told twice. You disappeared behind the tapestry as you followed Alexander down a narrow staircase. You had no idea where you were going and the area was completely dark. You had to keep one hand on Alexander’s shoulder to avoid losing him. He took you around a corner and down a few more steps before you could finally see a bit of moonlight creeping into this hidden stairwell.

As you reached the bottom, Alexander got to his knees and removed a small metal grate from the wall. Once he got it off, he crawled out of the stairwell and you quickly did the same. Once you were out, Alexander placed the grate back in place and you were greeted by the moon and the last fading remains of the storm.

The storm clouds were almost completely gone. Only a few of them remained as they sprinkled you in a light shower. Taking your gaze away from the sky, you realized you were in the garden. The perennials and jasmines looked even lovelier at night, but you could only admire them for a moment before turning to Alexander.

“How did you know that door was there? And how do you know how to navigate that stairwell? I’ve never seen it before.” You had to admit you were feeling a bit uneasy. It was suspicious that Alexander knew his way around those stairs and even more suspicious that they were there in the first place.

“I stumbled across them when I first started working here and I’ve been exploring them ever since. I think they were built when the Manor was first erected over a hundred years ago. My theory is the Lord and Lady used them to spy on their workers.”

“So do they lead to every room in the Manor?”

He shook his head. “So far I’ve only found connections to this garden, Thomas’ office, and the kitchen. I’ve also found a fourth door that I can’t open. There’s a bunch of dead ends, too, and I’m sure there’s more connections I haven’t found yet.”

You quickly looked around to make sure you were alone. “Does anyone else know about the stairs?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve never run into anyone else while using them.”

That uncertainty did nothing to calm you. Not seeing other people didn’t mean they weren’t there. “For now let’s agree to not use that stairwell unless it’s absolutely necessary. We have to be careful about these types of things.”

“You’re right. I’ll try to limit my use of them even when I’m alone.” He picked himself off the ground and held his hand out to you. Taking it, you let him lift you to your feet. “It’s only a light drizzle, but we shouldn’t stay out in the rain. Come on, I’ll take you inside through the workers’ quarters.”

The two of you walked through the edge of the garden to the side of the house. You stepped through the small door there and followed Alexander as he lead you through the workers’ quarters back to the main building. You quickly thanked him for escorting you and ran up the stairs to your bedroom.

Today was much too eventful for your tastes. You wanted nothing more than to get into bed and unwind. Replying to Amalee’s letter would be the perfect way to decompress. You were already formulating your response when you opened the door to your room.

“Thomas?” The name came out as a startled gasp as you saw the man sitting at the large vanity by your bed. He wore a displeased expression as he stared you down.

“Didn’t I tell you to join me for dinner? I waited and waited and you never came.”

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you stepped into the room and let the door close behind you. You had to come up with some kind of excuse. “Sorry, I found another book and lost track of time.”

“I looked in the library. You weren’t there.” As he continued to look at you in disapproval, one of his brows cocked up in confusion. “Is your hair wet?”

“I took the book out by the patio. The storm started to calm down a bit so I took a walk.” You did your best to sound convincing. “Honestly, if you’re that upset about dinner I’ll join you for breakfast in the morning.”

“This isn’t just about the dinner,” he said. “I know you say you aren’t getting on friendly terms with Alexander, but am I supposed to think it’s some kind of coincidence that he’s nowhere to be found the same night you up and disappear? I asked all the servants and none of them could tell me where you were or where he was.”

Crossing your arms, you walked until you were right in front of him. “You do know Alexander has a job here, don’t you? He was probably organizing documents or sending off a report or whatever else it is he does.”

Thomas refused to back down. “It’s all too suspicious! Honestly, I’m surprised I’m the only one around here with enough sense to question these things. I just can’t shake this feeling that you two are up to something.”

You mentally cursed Thomas’ instincts. “I don’t know what else to tell you. If you don’t believe me there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to it’s that this story isn’t adding up!” He threw his hands in the air in a dramatic motion, but his right hand flew back too far. It crashed into the vanity mirror and tiny shards of glass fell through the air. 

“Thomas! Are you alright?”

He had already jerked his hand away from the mirror and held it with his other hand. From where you were standing you could see there were a few pieces stuck in his skin. Small trails of blood started to seep from the wounds.

“It’s fine, nothing too serious.” Even though he did his best to sound unbothered you saw him wince as he took a shard of glass out of his hand. 

“You won’t be able to get it all out. I’ll call for a maid to help you.” Just as you were going to rush out, Thomas grabbed you with his good hand.

“Don’t, I can take care of it. Besides, people will start to wonder why I’m in your room this late at night.”

He had a point. The last thing you needed was another big commotion. “Just make sure to properly take care of your wound,” you told him.

“It’s not like I got shot. This will be a cinch to take care of.” With that, he hid his wounded hand in his pocket and walked out of your room. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that you realized that he had left you with a mess of broken glass.

Carefully, you began to pick up as much of it as you could. You were going to have to come up with an excuse for the broken mirror and ask to have it replaced. When did your life become a pit of excuses and lies?

Once you were finished cleaning up, you got out a pen and paper and began to write your letter to Amalee. It was over two pages long by the time you finished and went to sleep.


	4. When Freedom Shuts Another Door Opens

Only the light clinking of metal against glass could be heard within the dining room as everyone at the table brought spoonfuls of porridge up to their mouths. It seemed Thomas had decided to take you up on the breakfast offer you had made last night, and he had taken the liberty of asking his parents to join as well. The air was more than a little stuffy; no one really seemed to be paying attention to each other.

Lord Peter, sat at the head of the table. Your eyes traveled over to him and saw that he held a stagnant spoon of porridge in one hand and several documents in the other. He was quite the uncomfortable sight. His brows furrowed together and his lips stayed in a permanent scowl. Whatever it was he was reading it certainly wasn't making him happy. You shuffled in your seat and dropped your gaze from his face and back down to your bowl. As you mixed the plum and oats together, you began to observe Lady Jane. 

Unlike her husband she was eating, but it was obvious her attention was elsewhere. Her eyes kept dancing over to the other side of the room and you followed their movements. There were some sewing supplies on a small cabinet, accompanied by a piece of embroidery you couldn't quite get a good look at. You could sympathize with her need to finish it; you hated leaving a project halfway through. From the little you could see it looked like the finished product would be amazing. 

Moving your gaze away from her supplies, you finally looked over at Thomas. The boredom in his eyes was obvious as he stirred his breakfast back and forth. Every so often he took small spoonfuls into his mouth, but then he'd go right back to stirring. After a few minutes of this, he put his spoon down and cleared his throat.

"I was hoping (y/n) and I could borrow a carriage and go into town."

Both you and his parents snapped to attention. The Lord and Lady gave satisfied smiles while you gave him an incredulous look. Unless his parents pushed him to do it, he never asked to go anywhere with you. Your eyes flickered between his mother and father, but it was clear from the slight glint of surprise in their eyes that neither one of them had told him to do this. A knot formed in your stomach as you began to wonder why Thomas suddenly wanted to go into town with you.

"Why of course you can borrow one! For the whole day if you need to," Lady Jane mused. "Isn't that right, Peter?"

The Lord gave a hurried nod of approval. "Absolutely. Tell me, what do you plan on doing?"

The knot in your stomach grew even tighter. You had to bite down on the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from blurting out the fact that you'd rather clean up after the horses than go anywhere with Thomas for the entire day.

Shrugging, Thomas gave his parents a carefree grin. "I thought we could go place our clothing orders for the ball James' family will be hosting and then order a replacement vanity for (y/n)."

Lady Jane turned to you with wide eyes. "A new vanity? What happened to the one in your room?"

Well, you couldn't exactly tell her how it had really broken. "The screws holding up the mirror came undone. It fell off and completely shattered," you lied. "I tried to put it back into place, but it would be best to order a replacement."

Lady Jane gasped and held a napkin to her lips. "Oh my! What did you do with all the glass?" 

The memory of picking up each individual piece floated into your mind. "I had one of the maids clean it. Really, everything is fine." 

"Still, I could have sworn that vanity was in good condition. I had everything in the room checked before your arrival." The Lady's brow creased as she thought back to before you had arrived. "The maids told me the room was perfect."

"They must have forgotten to check the screws. I doubt they would have thought to check them in the first place." You did your best to try to convince her that you were telling the truth. You didn't want anyone to know Thomas had been in your bedroom. 

"Well, since you two obviously have things to do it'd be best to get a move on," the Lord interrupted. "Go on, I'll tell the driver to get everything ready."

At his prompting, you rose and gave a small curtsy. You hadn't even eaten half your breakfast, but Thomas' parents were so eager to push you two together that they hadn't even noticed. As soon as you were out of the dining room you sighed and headed up to your room to change into something more suitable. You settled on a pale green dress with matching shoes. It was a bit difficult to fix your hair, what with the broken mirror and all, but you managed. Once you were finished you walked back down to the front door. As you got down the last step, Thomas offered you his arm with a smirk. Wrinkling your nose in annoyance, you begrudgingly took it and allowed him to lead you to the carriage.

"Why do you really want to take me into town?" Your words traveled in a low whisper as you approached the waiting coachman. You gave him a nod of thanks as he opened the coach door for you and helped you inside. As Thomas joined you, the coachman securely closed the door and soon the carriage was on the move.

"You're too distrustful. I really do want to order my suit for the ball," Thomas said. He placed an arm around your shoulders and leaned back comfortably. "Can't you learn to have more faith in me?" 

Swatting him away, you crossed your arms. "Don't start acting coy. You always go with James when it's time to order your suits. Why did you suddenly decide to bring me?"

Rolling his eyes, Thomas mirrored you and crossed his arms. "I keep thinking about our conversation from last night. You have a particular way of lying, you know. First you come up with a story that seems believable, but if your victim doesn't buy it you keep trying to convince them that it's true. That, or you tell them there's nothing you can do if they don't believe you."

He was right about your lying style and it was actually a bit surprising that he had it down so well. Biting down on your lip, it made you wonder what else he knew you had lied about throughout the years, but the past didn't matter. The fact that Thomas knew you had lied about your interactions with Alexander did. Thomas' motives were so obvious now that he had practically spelled them out for you. He dragged you into town to get you away from the Manor and, by extension, Alexander.

"And here I thought you invited me because you enjoy my company," you said. You had to be careful with your words and find a way to steer the conversation. If he asked what you had gotten up to when you disappeared last night you'd be done for, so the only option was to ruffle his feathers so he'd forget to question you.

"Tone down the sarcasm. I'm losing quality time with James to keep an eye on you," Thomas warned. "You're like a parasite that thrives when no one is looking, but remember that I'm watching you."

You decided to stay silent, hoping Thomas wouldn't continue to speak without further prompting. Fortunately, your hopes became reality. Thomas settled into his seat and looked out the window as the carriage continued its trek into town. Your mind started to wander back to your findings in his office. The fact that he was willing to hurt so many people still ate away at you, but you had no idea how to stop him. You couldn't even figure out a way to bring the issue up without revealing that you had been snooping through his things.

At the same time, you couldn't help but wonder if doing something to stop him was worth the risk of him blowing up at you. Alexander said it himself: if you decided you wanted nothing to do with this problem then you could back out. There would certainly be consequences of some kind once Thomas discovered what you had done. More so, there was also the risk of his parents and your mother handing out a punishment of their own. As his future wife, you were expected to respect and support Thomas, not actively try to stop his efforts. The more you thought about your situation, the more it seemed the odds were stacked against you. 

But your moral compass was sure to take over. There was no way you'd be able to live with yourself if you allowed all those people to lose their homes, schools, and livelihoods. You had to remind yourself that you had only seen a small fraction of Thomas' plans. There was probably going to be more suffering that you could even imagine if someone didn't keep him in check. 

And so, you decided that you were going to put a stop to it. You were going to have to find a way to speak to Alexander without anyone finding out, which was going to be difficult now that Thomas took it upon himself to babysit you. A feeling of dread crawled over you as you realized that the next several weeks were going to be filled with sneaking around and lying. The faster you fixed this problem, the better. You weren't sure how long you'd be able to keep up such deceit.

As your internal mulling continued, you felt the carriage come to a slow stop. The coachman opened the door, allowing Thomas and you to step out. The town was relatively empty, but that was to be expected. Most people were still having breakfast after all. Only a select few stores were open and only a few people you recognized were out shopping.

"We should go order my suit first," Thomas said as he pulled you towards one of the most expensive shops in the square.

" _And_ my dress," you reminded. It wasn't unusual for him to forget about your needs during outings. He preferred dragging you towards whatever it was _he_ wanted to do.

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, minor details."

The pair of you entered the shop and were immediately greeted by the owner. He practically pounced on Thomas, engrossing him in conversation while you were left to wander the store. There were several new designs draped over the mannequins, vibrant color choices, and a plethora of materials. You began to piece together the image of a perfect dress for the ball when something caught your eye. 

There was a box of jewelry locked behind a glass cabinet. Right in the middle of it all was the most exquisite hair pin you had ever seen. It was in the shape of a five petaled flower, complete with a diamond center. The petals were a royal shade of purple and the intricate pattern around it was dusted in a light gold. Smaller jewels were tastefully placed around the swirling gold metal, making the pin shine with a radiant light.

"How much would it be for this pin?" Your finger pressed against the glass between you and the pin. Thomas and the shop owner ceased their conversation and walked over to where you were standing.

"Ah, that's one of my new arrivals. It was imported straight from Europe," the shop owner explained. "It's quite the expensive article, but seeing as the Jefferson family gives me some of my finest patronage, I'll sell it to you for $200,000."

You had never come across such an expensive pin before. Just as you were getting ready to tell the owner you'd look for something else, Thomas nodded in approval.

"We'll take it. Do you think you could design a dress based off of it? We'll be attending a ball in a few days time."

Jaw dropping, you watched as Thomas continued to place the order. He had never bought you such an expensive piece of jewelry before. Pursing your lips, you began to wonder what his motives were. You'd believe anything before you believed that Thomas Jefferson would do something nice for you.

But you knew better than to question him in front of the shop owner. You'd have to find a better time to corner him. For now, you stood by the jewelry cabinet and waited for Thomas to finishes placing your orders. Once he was done, you thanked the shop keeper and went down the road to a specialty furniture shop. It was time to get a new vanity.

The process was more painstaking than you originally thought. First there was the matter of getting all the measurements, then it was on to pick a suitable type of wood, then there was the color, and finally the design. You had barely gotten to the step of picking out a type of wood when you began to feel overwhelmed. Never in your life had you imagined there were so many different types. Once again, you let Thomas take the reigns and place the order. After everything was set, you were informed that it'd take two weeks to have it fully assembled for installation.

It was finally time to head back home. You began to walk towards the carriage and saw that the sun was almost completely overhead. You realized it nearly time for lunch when Thomas took you by the waist and made you come to a stop.

"Since we're here we might as well have something to eat," he told you. "I've heard one of the local shops makes amazing pork."

At the mention of pork, you heard your stomach growl. You weren't sure that you'd be able to put off eating for much longer. "Alright, let's eat."

You let Thomas lead you into a small restaurant where you were soon ushered to your seats. Even though you had already decided on the pork, you still looked through the menu. Everything looked absolutely mouth watering. You could see why Thomas would want to come here.

Once you placed your order of pork, you took a small sip from your glass of water. "Thank you for the pin, by the way." You stared at Thomas to gauge his reaction, but his facial features were fixed in place.

"You don't have to thank me," he told you. Reaching over, he took a sip of his own water.

"But I should. You've never bought me anything that expensive before." You couldn't help narrowing your eyes slightly. "Why did you do it?"

"You liked it didn't you? What, am I supposed to make you unhappy every waking moment I can?"

This was too out of the ordinary. He had no problem making every other day you had spent with him miserable, so why would he be so interested in making you happy today? Was he playing some kind of long con? Was he trying to get you to let your guard down before doing something horrible?

You opted to keep an eye on him for the rest of your time in town. Even as your meal came you couldn't help but observe him. Something was definitely wrong here, and it didn't sit well with you at all.

It wasn't until you were back at the Manor that you began to relax. Thomas headed off to his office and you began to walk up to your room. At the last second, you changed directions on the second floor and walked straight to the library. With Thomas busy in his office, this was the perfect time to talk to Alexander.

Peeking inside, you saw Alexander sitting at his desk with a stack of papers off to the side. You looked around to make sure that he was alone before you stepped inside and closed the door behind you.

"(Y/n)!" The sound of you entering had clearly startled him. He put down his pen and took off his reading glasses. "What brings you here?"

Wrapping your arms around yourself, you closed your eyes to listen for any footsteps outside. Once you were sure you were alone, your eyes met Alexander's. "I came to speak with you about last night and to warn you about Thomas."

Alexander chuckled. "Warn me? About what?"

"Thomas knows we were up to something. Granted, he doesn't know _what_ , but we have to be careful around him. He can tell when I'm lying." Biting your lip, you said the next part in a rush. "And I've decided that I'm going to help you stop him. I still have on idea how we'll do it, or how to even bring it up, but I can't let all those people suffer."

Alexander's face lit up. "That's great!"

"Keep your voice down," you hissed. "Someone might hear us."

Apologizing, he continued. "Sorry. You can leave all the logistics of the operation up to me."

Your brow furrowed as you looked to the side. "There's one other thing. Thomas was acting strange this morning. I'm worried that he might be planning something."

Smirking, Alexander laughed. "Don't worry about it. It's---"

"Don't worry about what?"

Before Alexander could finish, the library door burst open. You jumped forward in surprise as Thomas entered the room. Your heart began to beat rapidly as you wondered if he had been listening to the entire conversation.

"(Y/n)? What are you doing here?" Thomas' eyes narrowed as he looked between Alexander and you. 

A small bit of tension left your shoulders. If he was surprised to see you then that meant he had only heard Alexander's last statement. That did nothing to calm your nerves, however. Seeing you two together like this would only make it harder to convince Thomas that there was nothing going on.

"I asked Alexander to pick up our clothes for the ball in a week. I was apologizing about taking him away from his work when he told me it was nothing to worry about," you said.

Thomas howled with humorless laughter. "Please. As if I'd let his dirty hands anywhere near my clothes. One of the maids will get it. Now tell me, what were you snakes really talking about?"

You mind raced to come up with anything believable, but Alexander jumped in.

"She was just telling me how insufferable you are. Really, nothing you don't already know."

You stared at him with wide eyes. It was awfully bold, and idiotic, for him to say something like that. His eyes were locked on Thomas, challenging him. If you didn't step in they were sure to get into a fight.

"Thomas, isn't James supposed to arrive soon? We should go out to meet him." Grabbing Thomas by the arm, you swiftly took him out of the library. You were sure he'd begin to ask you more questions as soon as Alexander was out of ear shot, but you'd have to find a way to manage it until James arrived.

The day wasn't even halfway done and already you had had too many close calls with your lies.

Fortunately, Thomas completely dropped the subject of Alexander and you once James came. You followed the two men all around the estate (Thomas refused to let you go off on your own) and soon you found yourself bored beyond belief. James, bless his soul, did his best to include you in their conversations, but Thomas was back to his usual act of making your life difficult, so it was hard to really appreciate James' efforts.

You couldn't help but raise a brow at Thomas' antics. They were the same as they always were, but his behavior now made his actions in town seem all the more jarring. You were more convinced than ever that he was planning something. It didn't sit well with you at all. 

After hours of nonstop teasing and worrying, you were finally free. The moon had risen long ago and sent James on his way while you were now climbing up to your room---escorted by Thomas, of course.

"How many times do I need to tell you that I can walk to my room on my own?" You were right outside your door and asked Thomas this for what felt like the hundredth time. He was really blowing your conversation with Alexander out of proportion.

"You can say it as many times as you want. I'm not making the mistake of letting you go off on your own again," Thomas muttered. "If you would just do what I say and stop hanging around him them all of this could be avoided."

"You're paranoid," you told him. "Goodnight." Before he could respond, you slipped into your room and locked the door behind you. Sighing, you collapsed onto your bed. Summer Leave was horrible enough without Thomas shadowing your every move. You'd only been here a week and it was already exhausting. You still had three months ahead of you.

"I'm going to have one of the maids stand guard at the door, so don't even think about sneaking out!" You heard Thomas shout his warning from the other side of the door. Irritated, you hugged a pillow to your chest.

There was no way you'd be able to handle having your freedom stripped from you for much longer. If Thomas had things his way you wouldn't so much as be able to go to the bathroom without an escort. Getting up, you decided to tire yourself out by rearranging your room. You hoped that moving all the furniture would tire you out enough to stop you from being so antsy.

You started with the bed. It was tucked away in the corner and you decided to push it over to the window. Placing your hands on the wooden headboard, you used all your weight to try to move it. It was proving to be a difficult task. You had no way to keep track of time, but you imagined nearly a quarter of an hour had passed by the time you got it to your desired destination.

Next was the large closet. Since the bed was nearly impossible to move, you knew you'd stand no chance against the large wardrobe closet. Instead, you opted to rearrange the clothes you had inside. You organized them by color and size. Once you were satisfied with your work, you went on to the last large piece of furniture: the broken vanity and dresser.

Grabbing the right hand corner of the dresser, you did your best to pull it to the side. Groaning, you realized this was going to take a lot of effort. Sitting down, you placed your back against the wall and pushed the dresser and vanity with your legs. It took a few tries, but soon you had it about a foot away from the wall. That was when your mouth fell open.

There was a door right behind the spot the vanity and dresser had been covering. A sense of unease came over you as you hesitantly stepped towards it. The doorknob was cold to the touch and you had to convince yourself to open it. There was no telling where it would lead.

Before you could lose your nerve, you quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open. You were met with a dark staircase, much like the behind the door in Thomas' office. Sticking your head inside, you squinted your eyes to see if you could make anything out. You had no such luck.

Then, something Alexander had mentioned to you came rushing back. Determination set over you as you dug inside the dresser drawers for a candle. Lighting it, you stepped into the stairwell and began to explore.

For a while, you were walking straight down. The stairwell got smaller and smaller the deeper you went and soon you were hunched over to not hit your head. Just when you thought you were going to have to crawl, the descending stairs came to a stop and turned into a comfortably sized hall. You spend a few moments stretching before continuing on.

There were a few times you considered going back, but you knew it was in your best interest to see this all the way through. After a few more feet, you came into a fork in the hall. There were three different paths and you veered off to the left. Just as you were beginning to wonder if you were going in the right direction, you were met with a wall.

"Perfect," you muttered sarcastically. "A dead end."

Retracing your steps, you came back to the fork. Closing your eyes, you tried to envision the Manor and estimate where you were at this moment. If you had to guess, you'd say you were somewhere near the front door. Taking that into account, you went down the hall in the middle.

This hall continued straight for a while, but then took a sharp right. The hall after the turn became very narrow and you had to get on the tips of your toes to push yourself forward. The walls snugly rubbed against you and you were starting to think you had picked the wrong path yet again. Just as you were getting ready to turn around, you saw a door off in the distance.

Smiling, you hurried over to it. As you approached the door, the hall thankfully got wider. Once you made it to the door, you pressed your ear against it to see if you could hear anyone. There was no noise coming from the other side.

Pushing the door open, you frowned when you saw it only opened a bit. Sucking in, you squeezed your way through the small opening and shimmied against the wall until you made it around whatever it was the was blocking the door. It was a large wine cabinet.

Looking around, you realized you had successfully made it to the kitchen. You gave a silent celebration of your feat before getting back down to business. Carefully, you began to go up to the library. You had to find Alexander.

Most of the workers seemed to have gone back to their living quarters and the few that were still out working were too focused on their tasks to notice you slipping by. Even though the chances of getting caught were slim, you couldn't help but feel nervous. Thomas had already caught you meeting with Alexander in secret. It wasn't impossible for him to do it again and that thought was slowly eating away at you. Not only was Thomas taking away your physical freedom, but he was starting to take a toll on your mind as well.

No, you had to stay positive. Shaking away all negative thoughts, you broke out into a small sprint. The faster you got this done the better. Once you were outside the library, you listened for any sign of other people. When no signs came, you stepped inside and locked the door. You'd be damned if you let someone barge in again.

"Alexander," you breathed out in relief. He was putting several books back on their shelves and he turned towards you.

"What are you doing here? I thought Thomas had you all tied up." He set the books down on a nearby table and walked over to you.

"He did---and still does. He has a maid outside my door making sure I stay in the bedroom. I don't think I'll be able to walk around without an escort for the foreseeable future." You frowned as you said this. Saying it out loud made it seem all the more real. "But that can't happen if you and I are going to be working together."

Shaking his head, Alexander's brows creased together in confusion. "Wait, if he has someone watching the door, then how'd you get down here? I have a hard time believing you fought a maid just to come see me."

"That's actually one of the things I want to discuss. Last night you told me that you've found four connecting locations for that dark stairwell: Thomas' office, the garden, the kitchen, and a fourth door you couldn't open. Well, I think I solved the mystery of the fourth door." Brushing a strand of hair behind your ears, you watched as Alexander processed your words.

"You came here using the secret passage ways, didn't you?"

Nodding, you explained. "I started moving some furniture in my room when I found a door behind the vanity and dresser. Unlike the wine cabinet in the kitchen, the things in my room were pressed up against the door with no wiggle room, which explains why you could never open it." You paused for a moment and lowered your voice. "I know told you to limit your uses of the stairwell, but I think we're going to have to use them in excess. They're the only way we'll be able to communicate without Thomas finding out."

"We still need to be smart about it, though," Alexander pointed out. "You came across that hall that forks into three different paths, right?" Once you nodded, he continued. "We can meet in that hall whenever we need to talk. We can't slip away in the middle of the day, though. Let's always wait until after dinner."

"Wait, how will you know when I need to speak with you? And how will I know when you need to do the same?"

He thought for a second. "I could always knock on the door behind your room, but there's a chance someone else might hear it. How about this," reaching into the pocket of his pants, Alexander pulled out a green handkerchief. "If I ever need to talk with you then I'll tie this to my wrist."

"Alright, that sounds fine." You tried to think of any inconspicuous belongings you might have. "I have crescent shaped earrings. I'll wear those if I need to tell you anything."

"Perfect. It'll be a pleasure working with you." Smiling, Alexander gave a small bow. "You should probably head back up to your room. Oh, and don't forget to cover up the door." 

"Alright. Until next time." You lowered your head in acknowledgement before heading out the way you had came. After sneaking past the workers and traveling through the hidden passages, you were finally back in your room.

The first thing you did was move the vanity and dresser back into place, but not all the way. You left just enough room for your body to squeeze through the door whenever necessary. After that, you changed into your pajamas and settled into bed. Just as you were starting to doze off, you couldn't help but think that life was bound to get even more hectic from now on.


	5. Unexpected Announcements

_Dearest sister,_

_Some exciting things have happened since the last time I wrote to you! A few days ago mother gave me permission to go into town to buy some ribbons and I met the most wonderful boy! He's two years my senior and has such an air of maturity around him! His brown eyes were so kind as he spoke to me, but I worry that I might have bored him with my simple conversation. I tried so hard to make a good impression and he did smile at me quite a bit, so for now I'll remain hopeful!_

_After I got my ribbons and returned home, I told mother about him and she looked pleased. I told her his name, which is Isaac by the way, and she said she'd investigate to find out more about his family. Oh (y/n), my heart almost jumped out of my chest when she said those words! Do you think she'll consider having him court me if his family is suitable? He's so handsome and sincere. I know he'd make any girl happier than they could have ever imagined._

_Oh! I almost forgot to mention that the Brown family will be hosting a formal dinner for all the families in the sector. Puck will be going in mother's stead and represent us as Head of the Household. Lilith will of course be accompanying him as mother says it will be good practice for both of them. It looks like I'm going to have to be on my best behavior. I'd hate for something I did to ruin Puck's reputation as Head of the House before it even begins._

_And I know it's a bit silly, but I can't help but wonder if Isaac will be at the same dinner party. Surely he lives in this sector if he was in town, so if his family is the least bit influential he should be there. Oh, is it selfish of me to be so hopeful for myself when this dinner is supposed to be about Puck learning his future role? I truly can't get Issac out of my head. Starting from today I'll light a candle every night before bed in hope that it will provide our relationship even the smallest glimmer of light._

_But enough about me. I know that the annual Madison Ball will be happening soon. I've always wanted to attend a sophisticated party so be sure to tell me every detail in your next letter! What else have you gotten up to since you've been gone? And do you miss me as much as I miss you?_

_That's all for now. Be sure to write back as soon as you can!_

_Your favorite sister,  
Amalee_

Placing the letter to the side, you fell into deep thought. You had never heard the name Issac muttered within town, but your visits there were fairly limited. Amalee clearly harbored feelings for the boy and, although they seemed to only be surface level for the moment, that was something you couldn't ignore. If this Issac really was as kind as she said then for the time being you had no objections to her feelings other than the fact that you felt she was falling a bit too quickly.

You only hoped that she would remain careful not to let her romanticized ideas of life get the best of her.

Unfortunately, there was no time to reply to your sister. Just as the letter had said, the Madison Ball would be starting very soon; in an hour to be exact. You needed to get dressed if you were going to make it on time. 

Slipping off your day dress, you lifted held your arms out to both sides as two maids began to prep you for your gown. It had only just arrived and you had absolutely no idea what it looked like, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.

One of the maids quickly got to work getting your corset as tight as possible while the other fumbled with putting a petticoat into place. Once they were both secure, you heard the faint crinkling of plastic as they got the dress out of its packaging. At their orders, you stepped into it as they held it at your feet. Once you were standing at the center of all the material, they began to lift it up until you were able to slip your arms into the off the shoulder sleeves.

Now that the dress was on, they had you sit on a small stool while they got to work on your hair and makeup. This process gave you a slight bit of anxiety. Usually you would be sitting at your vanity while the maids worked, letting you catch small glimpses of your reflection, but now that it was broken you had no way of knowing what they were doing. 

You had to suppress a sigh when feelings of powerlessness hit. In this moment you felt more like a doll than a person. It was as if you had no agency of your own. You were at the mercy of these two maids and the shop owner.

Several minutes of hair tugging and makeup blending passed before you felt the hair pin you had all but fallen in love with slip into place. A small handheld mirror was given to you, allowing you to see the finished results.

Your hair was gorgeous. The top half was pulled back and held together with the pin, letting your bangs and strategically placed stray hairs frame your face. it gave off an elegant look that complemented the way the purple pin stood out against the color of your hair. 

The bottom half was equally as well put together, but gave off a more youthful air of beauty. It was completely loose and the maids had given the hair a slight curl. It reminded you of the way your mother used to style your hair when you were younger.

Lastly, you took a look at the makeup. The maid had gone for a natural look, but special care was taken to draw attention to your eyes and lips. You looked like a perfect version of yourself, and you smiled at the subtlety. 

It was finally time to go over the final look. You slipped on a pair of sliver five inch heels and stood up. One of the male workers came into the room with a full length mirror, allowing you to take everything in.

The dress was breathtaking. The material was dyed the same color as the petals on your pin: royal purple. The bodice and sleeves were decorated with small diamonds in the shape of flowers and the area just before the dress skirts flared out was decorated the same way, giving your waist a defined look. The floral design continued down the last three fourths of the skirts length, making your every movement glitter and shine.

"I love it," you told the workers who all smiled in relief. You allowed them to lead you down the stairs where the everyone was waiting.

As you got closer to the bottom, you watched as the Lord and Lady looked at you with approval. Walking up to them, you gave a small curtsy which they both returned with a nod of acknowledgement.

"You get more and more beautiful every year," the Lady complimented. Next to her, the Lord placed a gentle hand on her cheek.

"Just as you do, my Lady," he told her. She blushed and quietly asked him not to embarrass her. Laughing, they both lead the way out to the carriages. 

Taking Thomas by the arm, you followed them out and saw a few workers loading supplies into a third carriage while others got on horseback. This wasn't an unusual sight, the Jefferson family always had a few of their own servants help with the ball, but you'd never seen this many before.

"Are they _all_ helping with the ball?" You couldn't help but ask once you were inside the carriage you would be sharing with Thomas. 

Nodding, Thomas began to explain. "James said this year's ball is going to be bigger than the others. He asked us to bring as many workers as we could."

Scrunching up your nose in confusion, you looked out to window to get another look at just how many workers were coming along. "I can't imagine why they'd need this much help. Surely the ball can't be _that_ much bigger than what they're used to."

"I don't know much about it myself, but James isn't one to exaggerate. If he says they need this much help then I believe it." Turning to you, Thomas gave you a wolfish smile. "You look nice by the way. Do I know how to order a dress or what?"

Although it irked you to feed his ego, you had to admit that he was right. The dress really was spectacular. "The dress is nice, but don't spoil my gratitude by bragging." You decided to take it easy for the rest of the trip. If the ball was going to be as grand as Thomas said then you'd need to keep up your energy. Arguing with Thomas was a surefire way to exhaust yourself.

Thankfully, the Madison Manor was only a short ride away. Stepping out of the carriage, you took a look at some of the other guests who were arriving and realized that this ball was definitely a lot larger than you were used to. Several guests were making their way inside, many of which you had never met before. Seeing how easy it would be to get lost in the crowd, you closely followed Thomas inside.

The first order of business was to find the Lord and Lady. They were always at the center of their ballroom, greeting guests as they came in, so you figured it was be easy to thank them for inviting you. Oh, how wrong you were. The ballroom was absolutely packed and there was a long line of people waiting to greet them. It took nearly half an hour just to get to the front of the line. 

The waiting had you slightly irritated, so you made quick business of thanking them for having you. Breaking away, you began to search for the table that was reserved for you. That was when you felt someone grab your shoulder.

"James!" Your shocked scream was, thankfully, overpowered by the conversations of other guests. You took a second to compose yourself before speaking again. "It's absolutely packed in here. If any more guests show up we'll all be standing shoulder to shoulder."

"I know. I had hoped this year's ball would be a bit more intimate, but mother and father insisted on inviting the entire sector and then some." Shaking his head, James pulled out a handkerchief and wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead.

Tilting your head to the side, you couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. "James, are you alright? You look a little pale." His face was washed out and his hands were shaking ever so slightly. It was clear that he was nervous about something.

Shaking his head, James did his best to put your concerns at ease. "It's nothing. I'm just a little shaken about tonight."

Frowning, you placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Wait here, I'll get you some water."

You had never seen James like this before. He was usually so calm and collected and you worried that he might be coming down with something. As a child he always leaned towards the sickly side, but it had been years since he had been struck down with a severe illness. Just the thought of him becoming bed ridden formed knots in your stomach.

Once you were at the refreshments table, you poured ice cold water into a cup and brought it over to James. He thanked you and did his best to reassure you once more that everything was fine, but you still had your doubts. As he walked away and disappeared within the crowd you decided to keep an eye on him for the night. The last thing this party needed was for one of the hosts to collapse in the middle of it.

You were so worried about James that you didn't even notice Thomas approaching until he was right in front of you. "I thought you said you were going to find our table," he scolded. "It's on the other side of the ballroom."

"I got a little preoccupied with James. He doesn't look well at all. I'm worried he might be getting sick," you said.

Thomas blinked in surprise. "You really think so? Go ahead and get to the table. I need to find James."

Nodding, you broke away and went off to find the table once more. Now that you knew the general area it was in you found it within a few minutes. Taking a seat, you looked around to see if you could spot James. Unfortunately, the crowd was so dense it was nearly impossible to make out anyone. Sighing, you picked up a napkin and began fanning yourself.

For the life of you you couldn't think of a reason for the Madison's to put on such a large ball, especially not when James was obviously going through something at the moment. The whole situation became even stranger when you saw more and more strangers stumbling in. You had been to enough of these balls to recognize everyone in the sector, but about half the guests were people you had never seen in your life. That was too many strangers for comfort. What reason did they have for being here?

"Hors d'œuvre, Madam?"

You turned to your left and came face to face with a platter full of smoked shrimp and salmon crisps. Taking a salmon crisp, you looked up to thank the server. "Alexander?" Blinking, you focused your eyes a bit more. "What are you doing here?"

Alexander lowered the platter and looked equally as surprised. "Oh, (y/n), I didn't recognize you. You look very lovely," he added in. "The Lord told me to help out with the ball tonight."

Well, if the Lord was willing to lend out his personal assistant then this ball was more important than you had realized. "Did he tell you why?"

Alexander shook his head. "No, but now that I'm face to face with all these people I can see why the Madison's needed the extra help. By the way, I have an idea on how we can...well...you know," he whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear. "I'm not sure how long these things last, but meet me in our spot once we head back to the Manor."

"Alright. Try to be distant for the night. There's too many eyes here," you warned.

With a nod of understanding, Alexander went off to offer a different group of guests some food. At the same time, you did your best to relax. Tense muscles ate away at you as you tried to distance your mind from all the thoughts hovering in it. Worrying about James and whatever it was Alexander had come up with was sure to ruin your night. You needed to take it easy before someone caught on to your anxieties.

Soon, Thomas joined you at the table. Taking the seat next to yours, he sank down and gave a pensive look towards the direction he had come. "I see what you mean about James. Something is definitely going on."

Well, not worrying about James was certainly out the window. You leaned towards Thomas as to not be overheard. "Did he tell you anything?"

Thomas shook his head with a dissatisfied grimace. "It actually kind of bothers me. He's my best friend. He can tell me whatever it is he's going through."

Your lips slightly parted as you took in his expression. You'd never seen him so concerned about another person before. Even when James would fall ill as a child Thomas was always confident that he'd recover. Not once did he fret, and seeing him like this now made you all the more nervous. Not knowing what else to do, you looked down at your lap and waited until all the guests were seated.

Once everyone found their places, the main course was served. Several servers came into the grand hall and placed plates of food down on each table. You politely began to eat, but something about this meal caught your eye. It was much more expensive than usual. The Madison's always served exquisite food. but this was out of the norm even for them. Even the wine had a strong earthy scent, letting you know it was from a _very_ good year. James and his family were pulling out all the stops for this ball.

But you didn't have enough time to dwell on it. Couples began heading to the center of the ballroom for dancing. Nudging Thomas, you nodded your head over to the young couples beginning a waltz and held out your hand. You had to share at least one dance with him to satisfy his parents.

Taking your hand, Thomas lead you out and placed one hand on your waist. Your free hand went up to his shoulder as the two of you began to sync up with the other dancers.

"Did they hire a new orchestra to play? I don't think I've heard this piece before," you asked as Thomas gently spun you.

"They did. I've actually noticed a lot of new things they've done for tonight. Did you notice the new centerpieces and decorations?"

You shook your head. "No, but the food and wine were certainly a step up from previous years. Who are they trying to impress?"

Thomas suppressed a laugh. "The Madison's are fourth most influential family in the country. I have a hard time believing they want to impress anyone. Maybe they just felt like being a bit fancy?"

Even though that was a possibility, something about it didn't sit right with you. No one would make this many changes to their parties without a good reason. Balls were a way to build up reputations and people expected balls thrown by specific families to go a certain way. It was never a good idea to change too much of an already established setup, lest you disappoint your guests.

But as the dance came to a close, so did your conversation. Thomas lead you back to the table and went off in search of James once more. Sighing, you took your glass and began to swirl its contents. 

"More wine?"

You didn't even look up. You were used to his voice by now.

"No. Honestly I'm not much of a drinker," you told Alexander. "Have you heard anyone say anything...unusual about the ball?"

"This is the first ball I've been to. I couldn't tell you whether the talk going on is unusual or not."

He walked away after that, obviously heeding your previous warning to keep a distance. Once you were alone, you looked out to the dance floor to see if you could find Thomas among the crowd. Several songs passed with no such luck. Frowning, you looked over to the head table to see if you could catch a glimpse of the Lord and Lady. Your confusion over this night doubled when you saw they weren't there, but another older couple was. This couple was seated at the end of the head table, but you had never seen them before.

Just as you were about to get up and get some answers, several servants began ushering people back to their seats. The uncertainty in the room was tangible as perplexed guests made their way back to their tables. Even Thomas' brows were creased together as he joined you once more. Apparently, James was no where to be found. Thomas had looked everywhere; even going as far as to leave the ballroom and search the rest of the Manor.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you looked over at the head table once more. A slight sense of relief filled you as the Lord and Lady made their way to their seats, but rather than sit they opted to stand just behind the table. The other couple joining them at the table did the same and soon you saw James join their ranks. He stood right between his parents and the strange couple when suddenly a young woman walked up next to him and linked her arm with his.

A small gasp left your lips as your mind suddenly processed what was happening. Everything made sense now: the large number of guests, the need for extra staff, the special care given to every little detail. The only thing left about tonight that you didn't understand was how James had managed to keep this under wraps for so long.

Surely he must have been courting this girl for a few years now if they were ready to make this announcement, but no matter how much you wracked your brain you couldn't remember a single instant of anyone mentioning James being in a courtship. Everyone around these parts liked to talk, so this must have been a well kept secret. Even more confusing was the fact that he hadn't uttered a word of this to Thomas.

"May I have everyone's attention?" James' mother's voice rang out in the ballroom and soon the confused chatter ceased among the guests. "I'm sure you've all noticed that tonight's ball is a bit different from usual and it's about time that we call tell you why. James?"

At his mother's prompting, James cleared his throat and the room was filled with his smooth, low voice. "For a few years now I have had the pleasure of courting Dorothea Payne, a fact that most of you have been unaware of until now. Our families wanted to keep this pairing within an intimate circle until we were both ready to come forward."

The Lord soon took over. "My son and Dorothea, as of last night, have been engaged to be married. This is our official declaration of their engagement and hope that you will all spend the night celebrating with us."

Cheers erupted from the crowd as the betrothed were congratulated. The orchestra played a new piece in celebration as smiles and clapping filled every table.

Every table, except for yours.

"What?! How could he not tell me about this?!" Thomas all but jumped out of his seat in anger. The joy of the other guests was enough to drown out his screams of protest, but you still urged him to calm down. "He never mentioned he was courting anyone! Who is this Dorothea anyway?!" The hurt was evident on his face. The fact that his best friend would keep such an important secret from his was eating away at his core.

"Thomas, control yourself! I'm as shocked as you are, but he must have had a good reason to stay quiet about all this." You practically threw your upper body in front of him to prevent him from getting up.

"He better have a good reason!"

Just as the words left his mouth, you heard someone clear their throat from behind you. As Thomas' eyes narrowed and glimmered with offence you knew who it was.

"Thomas, (y/n), I'd like you to meet Dorothea. Dorothea, this is my best friend since childhood, Thomas Jefferson, and the woman he's courting, (y/n) (l/n)." Although his voice was even, you could tell James was slightly nervous. He knew Thomas well enough to know he was furious.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Dorothea said. She gave a polite curtsy which you returned with a nod. "James has already told me a bit about you both, but it's exciting to finally meet you in person."

Seeing as Thomas was going to be no help, you answered for the pair of you. "The pleasure is all ours. I'm glad to see I'll have someone to keep me company while the boys go off together."

Dorothea smiled enthusiastically. "Oh, that sounds wonderful! I get so lonely whenever James goes off to the Jefferson Manor, but now that our relationship is public I'll be able to join him." She gingerly took a seat next to you and James followed suite. Your table was now full.

"I'm sure you two will get along wonderfully," James assured her before turning his attention back to you. "Dorothea's family isn't from this sector, so it's been difficult for her to make friends."

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of her," you said. "I don't go out much myself, but maybe that should change. The next time you get together with Thomas Dorothea and I should go into town."

"That could be farther away than you hope. I find that I'm getting increasingly busy these days." Crossing his arms, Thomas looked down at the ground. 

Your lips formed a straight line at his behavior. Now was not the time to be giving James the cold shoulder, especially not when his fiancée was present. Even if he was miffed you still felt he should be polite to the poor girl. None of this was her fault.

"I'm sure you'll find the time. You always do." Giving him a pointed look, you made it clear that this would be his first and only warning to get his act together.

Thankfully, one warning was all he needed. While he wasn't exactly enthusiastic with the conversation, he still made a small effort to speak with Dorothea. You noticed that he was still refusing to speak with James, but you'd have to live with that for now. That problem was bound to solve itself eventually.

And so the rest of the night began to fly by and you were getting increasingly tired. Since the Jefferson family and Madison family were so close you would be one of the last guests to leave, much to your dismay. Envy filled you as you watched the other guests leave the ballroom and head back home. You would give anything to take their place. Your eyelids felt like lead as you fought to keep them open. You weren't even sure where the conversation had headed at this point. You only smiled and nodded along, hoping it didn't seem out of place with the topic.

After a small eternity, you finally saw Thomas' parents get up from their table. Joy filled you as they made their way over to you and said that it was time to go. You made quick work of saying your goodbyes before walking out to the carriage. As the coachman helped you inside, you realized just how exhausted you were. Without his help you doubted you would have had the strength to lift yourself inside. It was even a struggle to stay awake during the ride home. Before this moment, you had never been happy to see the Jefferson Manor come into view.

Rushing inside, you wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed, but you knew that wasn't a viable option at this point. Exhaustion or not, you needed to see Alexander.

And so, you slipped away from Thomas and went straight to your room. You let out a humorless laugh when you saw the shoes of a worker under the crack between the door and floor. Not even a night as eventful as this one could make Thomas forget that you were to be under strict watch.

But there was no time to dwell on it. Grabbing a candle, you slipped behind your vanity and dresser before opening the door to the stairwell. Stepping inside, you began your slow descent. It only took a few seconds for you to regret coming in with your dress and heels. The added height from the heels made it difficult to duck down and the volume from the dress' skirt made it nearly impossible to maneuver. You thought about going back and changing, but you knew once you got all of this off you'd want to get into your nightgown and sleep.

So, you continued on with your struggle. Once the stairs stopped and the ceiling overhead became a comfortable height you took some time to stretch before heading down to the forked hallway. About ten minutes passed before you saw the faint light of a candle approaching. Soon, the candle's light joined your own and Alexander came into view.

"You came down here in your dress? You should have changed. It'd be a shame if it got dirty," he told you.

"It's doesn't matter now. So, what did you come up with?" The exhaustion was still eating away at you and you wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Your biggest concern about this mess is figuring out a way to bring it up to Thomas, right?" Once you nodded, Alexander continued. "Well, I thought of a way to stop him without ever having to say that we know what he's planning. The reason he can close down all those schools and small businesses is because they have no funding of their own. Everything runs on tax dollars," he explained. "But if we can raise enough money to privatize them then the threat of being torn down will disappear."

You couldn't help but frown. "Do you have an idea how much money it would take to do that?"

"I know it sounds difficult---nearly impossible," he added. "But with enough planning I think we could pull it off. Still, if you're hesitant about it I could come up with some more ideas so we have options to choose from." 

"Please do. And sorry if you think I'm being a bit harsh on the idea. I know I shouldn't complain about it all that much, especially when I don't have a plan of my own. If you're going to think of more ideas then I'll try to do the same." Another round of exhaustion hit you as you yawned. Rubbing your eye, you felt something come off on your hand. Looking closer, you saw that it was makeup. As the realization hit you, you groaned. It looked like you weren't going to be able to go straight to bed like you had hoped.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm just a bit tired. I wasn't expecting to be at the ball for so long."

Alexander's head tilted to the side. "You mean they aren't usually that long?" He let out a small laugh. "And here I thought rich people partied until dawn."

A smile worked its way onto your lips. "I'd fear any man that can dance and drink for an entire night."

"Well it's not drinking and dancing, but I have spent entire days writing at my desk. Really, as long as you're passionate about what you're doing it's not that difficult to spend a whole night doing it."

Humming, you shrugged one shoulder. "I suppose I just haven't found something I'm really passionate about."

Smiling, Alexander crossed his arms. "It'd be a shame for _anyone_ to live their life without passion. Even Thomas has his precious office documents."

You twirled a strand of hair between your fingers as you thought about his words. "Well then, I'll just have to start looking for a passion. I'll let you know once I find one."

"I look forward to it." Alexander took a small pause and collected himself. "Well, since I've told you what I came up with we should both head off to bed. Until next time," he said with a bow. You gave a curtsy and watched Alexander head back down the hall until he was out of sight. 

As you walked back up to your room, you couldn't help but smile. It was finally time to get some well deserved rest. Once you were out of the stairwell, you went over to your closet and changed into your nightgown. Your hair easily came undone once you removed the pin and shook the curls out. You were so tired that you didn't even have the energy to be annoyed with the worker who followed you down the hall and into the bathroom as you washed your face. The only thing on your mind was sleep.

Going back to your room, you locked the door before climbing into bed and closing your eyes. A satisfied smile graced your lips as you settled in and let the events of the day replay in your mind. Eventually, you fell into a dreamless sleep.


	6. Influences of the Mind

After days of thinking it over, you were starting to regret being so quick to dismiss Alexander's original plan to save the orphans, school children, and small business owners. Not a single good idea to save them had decided to grace you and time was of the essence. There were too many obstacles to get over and very little resources at your disposal. It was looking as though it would come down to a race to see if you could come up with the money faster than Thomas could begin to set his plans into motion.

But at the moment, you only had $2,000 on your person; not nearly enough to fix everything. To top it all off, you doubted Alexander had much to contribute, which meant that you'd have to take this fundraising fiasco to the public. Of course, that came with its own set of problems, chief of which would be the fact that Thomas would try to put an immediate stop to it.

Groaning, you placed your head down in your knees. Everything you did seemed to be at the mercy of that man. It felt as though you couldn't even breathe without his approval. If he were out of the picture things would be much simpler. 

And that was when you had you first good idea since talking to Alexander. Getting off your bed, you quickly changed and checked the time. They'd be arriving any minute now. It was perfect.

You did your best to appear nonchalant as you raced down the stairs. Once you got to the bottom, you nervously awaited the knocking that would come at any moment. You didn't even realize you had been holding your breath until one of the servants stepped forward to let your guests in.

James and Dorothea thanked the servant and stepped inside. Squealing, Dorothea broke off from James' arm and skipped over to you. Throwing her hands around your shoulders, she trapped you in a tight hug that you did your best to return.

"I can't wait to see what we get up to today! Do you have any ideas?" She pulled away as a wide smile took over her features. You gave her a sheepish smile of your own as a small twinge of guilt began to hit. You needed her to do your dirty work, but you couldn't tell her the truth. If you looked at things in a strictly black and white sense, there was no doubt that you were using her.

 _But it's for the greater good_ , you reminded yourself. There was no time to back down; you might not get another opportunity to do this.

"I thought it might be fun to do a bit of embroidery together. The East Wing has a room no one ever uses. The walls are filled with windows to let in natural light and it's rather peaceful if I do say so myself," you told her.

"It sounds perfect!" Turning to James, she gave him a chaste peck on the cheek. "(Y/n) and I will join Thomas and you for dinner later tonight."

"I look forward to it. Excuse me." Maneuvering around Dorothea, James headed off towards where you assumed Thomas was waiting for him. Thomas was still giving him a bit of the cold shoulder, but the icy exterior was slowly starting to melt. You wouldn't be surprised if the boys were back to their old selves by dinner.

Taking Dorothea by the arm, you lead her away to the East Wing. Several servants bowed to both of you in respect and you gave each of them a nod. You silently prayed that none of them would overhear your conversation. For now, this had to be kept between the two of you.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll get the supplies," you told her while walking to the far corner of the room. The afternoon light poured into the space, forcing you to squint down at the trunk at your feet. Grabbing the materials, you tucked them under your arm and took a seat in the chair across from Dorothea.

"This space is lovely! Once I take over the Madison Manor I want to remodel a room to be just like it," Dorothea mused while picking out a light pink spool of thread. Pulling it through a needle, she quickly got to work on her embroidery.

"I think it would make a fine addition to the household," you told her. Not wanting to seem out of place, you picked up some green thread and a good sized needle. "Have you decided on any other changes you might make?"

"Oh, absolutely! The first thing on my list is renovating the garden. James' mother has nothing but those messy flowers that hang about and get their seeds and petals everywhere. It looks dreadful," she complained. "I want to put in some roses and daises. Maybe a few chrysanthemums..." She trailed off dreamily as she envisioned her new garden. You lightly cleared your throat to get her back on track. "Oh, but other than that I'm afraid I don't have any good ideas. What about you (y/n)?"

"It's a bit early for me to make any plans, isn't it? Thomas hasn't proposed," you reminded her.

Laughing, she waved her hand dismissively. "What does that matter? James told me you've been promised to each other since you were six years old! I'm sure he's just shy. The proposal will come any day now!"

It took quite a bit of willpower to stop yourself from physically cringing. This certainly wasn't the subject you needed to be, or wanted to be, discussing. Looking down at your lap, you began to push your needle and thread through the white cloth you had selected. 

"You might be right. I'm actually grateful for the delay. I haven't thought of a single pet project to take up at the Manor. Renovating gardens is all well and good, but I am curious to know whether you'll be doing anything on a grander scale once you officially marry James." You could see Dorothea look up curiously from your peripheral vision.

"A grander scale? What do you mean?"

Adjusting your position, you shrugged and continued with your embroidery. You didn't want to seem too invested. For this to work, Dorothea had to think everything you were about to plant in her mind was her own idea. "Something a bit more challenging. Maybe doing some sort of charity work in town? I've known James long enough to know he values people with strong minds. If you prove to him that you can handle large scale projects all by yourself I think it'd make you all the more wonderful in his eyes." 

There was a pause as Dorothea took in your words. "It would be nice to prove my worth to him. I don't want him to see me as a burden..."

"Don't worry about that. I can tell you're a capable woman. I'm sure any project you devote your time to will end up being a success," you said as she trailed off.

"The only problem is I have no idea what I'd want to do." She leaned back in her seat dramatically. "There aren't any things in town I'm passionate about!"

Setting down your embroidery, you looked directly at her. "You shouldn't rule things out so quickly. You could look into land conservation. Or do some work for the church."

"I don't know a thing about land conservation, and the church already has several volunteers." 

Sensing she was feeling dejected, you decided to set out the last of your bait. "Well there's also the dress shops, the markets, the orphanages and schools filled with children---"

"Children?" This got her attention. Sitting up, she smiled to herself. "I do love children. It's always been a dream of mine to have a large family."

"Well there'd be no better way to show James you'd be a good mother than helping out the orphans and schoolchildren," you said.

"You're right! I could donate some clothes to the orphans. Oh, and get them toys! What about building each school a brand new playground? And then I could---" She excitedly began to rattle off ideas and it took several attempts before you could get a word in.

"Those are all wonderful ideas, but isn't it a bit much for one person?"

Leaning forward, Dorothea excitedly gripped your hands in hers. "Isn't that the point? I want to show James I can handle it."

Setting her hands back into her lap, you began to reason with her. "But you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew. Everything you just mentioned is going to need funding, and I doubt the wealth of the Madison family alone could pay for it all."

"Oh...I supposed you're right." She slouched back into her chair and you couldn't help but take note of how quickly Dorothea's mood could be crushed.

"You'd need to do some kind of fundraising. Get the whole community involved," you told her. "It'd be impressive if you could get enough people together to make this cause a reality."

Her eyes widened. "Do you think the Jefferson family would be willing to pitch in?"

You felt your muscles tense at the question. "For now it'd be better to keep your project a secret. We shouldn't let James or Thomas in on it until you've reached your goal."

"You're right, it would be nice to surprise him. But why can't we tell Thomas?"

"We can't tell anyone in his family," you warned. "It'd get back to him and we both know Thomas and James tell each other everything. It'd ruin the surprise."

Dorothea immediately nodded in agreement and you finally felt a sense of relief. If Dorothea pulled this off, then fixing up the orphanages would become a community effort. There'd be no way for Thomas to destroy something so much of the public had put its own money and efforts into. Better yet, having Dorothea become the face of the cause shielded both Alexander and you from Thomas' wrath.

Now you just had to meet with Alexander and tell him about these new developments. That, and figure out a way to save the small business owners.

Dorothea continued to tell you how she planned to raise all the money until the sun started to settle down below the horizon. It was a good thing she was so enthusiastic about this; it gave you peace of mind. As long as she stayed passionate there was no need for you to stress.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door. You felt yourself jump slightly out of your seat as James entered the room. Behind him, Thomas was taking quick glances around the room. After a bit of searching, his eyes landed on you. Frowning, you realized he was checking to see if anyone besides Dorothea was in your company. He still didn't trust you to be alone.

"Have you two been enjoying yourselves?" Walking over to your chairs, James held out his hand and helped Dorothea up.

"Yes, it's been fun! Is it time for dinner already?" Curiously, she looked out the window and was genuinely shocked to see the sun had almost completely disappeared behind the horizon. "Time really does fly."

Getting up from your own chair, you took a quick moment to stretch. "I need to grab something from my room. I'll join you all in the dining room shortly."

"What do you need to grab?" Stepping to the side, Thomas blocked the doorway with his body.

"A book," you said. You needed to keep this lie simple.

After giving you a suspicious look, Thomas stepped aside. "We'll be waiting. Be down in two minutes." 

Nodding, you slipped past him and raced to your room. Once you were there, you opened a small jewelry box you kept stashed away in a drawer. After moving several necklaces and bracelets out of the way, your eyes landed on the small crescent shaped earrings your mother had given you on your fourteenth birthday. They were rather simple looking; smooth stainless steel that reflected any light it could capture. The only thing that separated it from less expensive alternatives was the small sapphire that sat on the moon's lower point. 

Slipping them onto your ears, you frantically looked around for a decoy book. A frown took over your features when you realized the only books you currently had were the ones your mother had packed for you. They still left a bitter taste in your mouth and after a second of thinking you took one in your arms. It was time to start getting rid of them.

Sensing that your two minutes were almost up, you sprinted out into the hall and down the stairs. When you reached the ground floor, you made your way to the dining room in a more appropriate fashion.

"Dorothea, I think this book will really help you once you're officially married to James." Settling into your seat, you slid your copy of _The Elements of a Perfect Marriage_ over to her. Her face lit up as she eagerly pressed it to her chest.

"I didn't know they made books like these! Thank you!"

"There's no need to thank me. Believe me, it's my pleasure," you told her. At least now those awful books weren't going to be a complete waste.

The chatter quieted as several maids entered the dining hall and placed down everyone's food. Picking up your fork, you gave the fish a taste test. It had a delicate texture with a mild, sweet taste. Licking your upper lip, you tasted the steamed vegetables and salad next. Everything was very flavorful.

James and Thomas kept most of the small talk going; Dorothea opted to listen while you busied yourself with enjoying your meal. It felt incredible to live in the moment and not have any worries.

But lately, it seemed as if the universe always wanted your mind to be at work. Sometime between bites of asparagus and yellow perch, the Lord briskly walked past the dining room while giving out what you thought were lengthy instructions. You couldn't hear him very well in the few seconds it took him to pass the room.

What you did manage to do was briefly lock eyes with Alexander as he trailed after the Lord. In real time it all happened within a second, but to you it felt like much longer. As you both registered the fact that you had seen each other, you tucked your hair behind your ear and tilted your head, giving him full view of your earring.

You saw the understanding flash through his eyes right before he disappeared from sight. Once you could no longer see him, it felt as though time suddenly caught back up to you. Straightening out your head, you quickly moved your hair back into its original place. Taking a look around the table, you were sure none of the others had noticed your exchange.

Small bubbles of impatience began to rise within you as your leg began to bounce. The faster everyone finished dinner, the faster you could let Alexander know about Dorothea's involvement. The peaceful atmosphere you had moments ago was completely overpowered by the weight of the work you had to do.

It felt as if several decades had passed by the time Thomas, James, and Dorothea finished their plates. You wasted no time in excusing yourself; you feigned a stomachache; saying you were going to retire early tonight. As per usual for these last few days, Thomas escorted you to your room and had one of his several servants guard your door. 

Checking the time, you knew it was still too early to go down into the stairwell. There were still too many workers walking about the Manor and you couldn't risk being heard, not to mention the fact that Alexander was most likely taking care of whatever it was the Lord seemed so frazzled about.

Still, if you had to wait, you'd rather do it alone. Having to be around Thomas all night was sure to make you paranoid. You didn't want to take any risks. Thomas was a clever man and could figure things out with the smallest bit of information. If you said anything to make him suspicious he'd question you to no end.

So, you waited. You waited while staring at the wall, while reorganizing your things. There was so much waiting to be done that you even skimmed over one of your mother's books. The boredom growing inside you was unlike any you had felt before. Exasperated, you took another look at the time and figured it would be fine to head down into the stairwell.

Even though you knew the cramped hall was waiting for you, it was still a hassle to get through it. But, to be fair, it was much easier to do it when you weren't wearing a ballgown and heels. Once you cleared the first, and most annoying, part of the passage you sprinted down to the forked hallway.

Leaning against the wall, you closed your eyes and did your best to listen for footsteps. There was nothing for quite a while; in fact, you almost fell asleep from having your eyes closed for so long. You resorted to pinching your arm to keep yourself from drifting to sleep when you heard someone approaching.

Opening your eyes, you saw Alexander emerge from the hall. Now that you could get a good look at him, you noticed there were dark circles under his eyes. His muscles looked incredibly stiff and his skin was pale. His clothes weren't doing much better. They were wrinkled and, if you squinted your eyes, you could see coffee stains on his pants. The man looked like he hadn't slept since the last time you spoke.

"Alexander, you look like a mess. What happened?" You kept eyeing him with concern and were surprised to see him shrug.

"This is nothing. I find I work best when I have nothing to distract me from the task at hand."

"Since when has sleep been a distraction? It looks like you haven't rested since the last time we were here."

"There's been a sudden increase of work. What with James' public engagement, the Lord is fretting over your relationship with Thomas and whether or not he's going to propose. He's been keeping me up for hours just talking about it. That, and the Burr family is finally starting to see the effects of those bad investments they made. At this rate, the Jefferson family will become the second most influential family in the land. We all expected this to happen, but it's coming a lot sooner than we thought. With that new influence comes a string of responsibility. I have to handle everything," he explained. "And on top of all that I've been coming up with new ideas to save the town from the natural disaster that is Thomas Jefferson."

Your brow furrowed as you felt a wave of guilt come over you. "I never knew you had so much on your plate. If it's any relief to you at all, I think I found a way to save the orphanages and schools."

"You did?"

Nodding, you explained. "I convinced Dorothea to start a public fundraiser for both causes. Well I say convinced, but it's really more like I tricked her into thinking it was her own idea."

Alexander took a moment to process this information. "Making Dorothea the founder of the fundraiser will keep Thomas from finding out this was our doing, but there's no guarantee Dorothea will be able to pull this off. Won't she need help? And what if Thomas shuts the project down?"

"I'll help her get donations going and you can figure out the logistics of how much we'll actually need to raise. And, for the time being, we won't have to worry about Thomas. I made her believe that no one in the Jefferson or Madison families can know what she's up to. She thinks she's doing this to prove her worth to James. She doesn't want to spoil the surprise."

"So once they find out it'll be too late to do anything and the schools and orphanages will have too much funding to destroy," Alexander reasoned. "What about the businesses?"

You looked down at the floor. "That I haven't figured out yet."

"Don't look so dejected. As of right now you've done far more than I have in terms of stopping those awful plans," Alexander said. You could hear the gentleness in his voice.

"Only because you have to balance your job with all this. You shouldn't have to reassure me, you've got enough on your plate."

"The difference being I'm used to overworking and pushing myself to the limit. I can tell that having to fix all these problems and keeping it hidden has been difficult for you."

Looking up at him, you could feel your face flush. "You can?"

Chuckling, he nodded. "It's obvious. I've always prided myself in being able to read others, and when it comes to showing your emotions you're like an open book."

Hugging yourself, you took a hesitant step back. "I'm not sure how to feel about that. If I'm that easy to read then we'll be found out for sure."

"Not necessarily," Alexander cut in. "Most people aren't going to pay attention to things like that, and Thomas only seems to be interested in your reactions when he knows you're lying. If anything, you just need to be careful with what you tell him. Stick to the truth as much as possible."

"Alright," you said, but you were still unconvinced. You never put much thought into whether or not you were easy to read, but now that you knew you apparently _were_ you didn't know what to make of it. If you two were caught because of your inability to hide emotions you'd feel awful. "For now I'll focus on helping Dorothea with her project and coming up with a plan to help those business owners."

"I'll do the same. If I come up with anything then, well, you know the signal."

"Right. Goodnight, and _please_ try to get some sleep. You look like you're moments away from collapsing."

"I keep trying to tell you that I'm not that fragile, but if it'll give you peace of mind then I promise I'll rest up. Goodnight." Once he gave you a polite bow, Alexander disappeared into the dark hall.

Turning on your heel, you walked back up the way you came. Once you were back in your room, you jumped into bed and frowned. You had no idea how to save those businesses. You knew you were in for a long night of brainstorming.


	7. Tales of the Past and Rumors of the Mouth

The largest estate you had ever seen engulfed your entire range of vision. It was unlike anything you had ever seen before; if you didn't know better you might mistake this place for a small country. Everything about it screamed wealth and power from the flawless architecture to the tasteful arrangement of flower beds and fountains. You stepped out of your carriage in a daze, holding tightly to the driver's extended arm to keep yourself from falling.

You were only vaguely aware of Thomas stepping out behind you. A nearby marble statue was taking up all your attention.

"So this is the famous Washington estate? Looks like the rumors were true," Thomas said. He walked a few feet away to examine a fountain. 

The Washington family was the richest family in the land. They were also something of an oddity; they never went out to balls or other upper class events unless they absolutely demanded their presence. Rumor had it that George Washington was a man who liked to keep to himself, but those who had personally met him always described him as a man with the natural qualities of a leader. 

Even you had only managed to meet him once, if you could really call it a meeting. You were eleven at the time and had been out in town with Lady Jefferson. She had been looking for a specific accessory for one of her dresses as you trailed behind her in absolute boredom. The weather that day was perfect and you wanted nothing more than to go out and play. 

That was when the shadow of a man fell over you. Startled, you turned around and came face to face with a kind looking man. He spoke to you for a short while, but seeing as it was so long ago you couldn't quite remember what it was he said. What you did remember was the way he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pile of candy. He handed them over to you and with that he left the store.

At the time you didn't think much of it, but after describing the encounter to the Lady you found out the man you had met was George Washington. She questioned you for what felt like hours, asking what he had said and what you had responded, wanting to know if you remembered your manners. That was when it clicked that you must have met someone of great importance.

"Thomas, (y/n), stop gawking and hurry along. I don't want to be late for this meeting." The Lord's voice sounded strained, a clear sign that he was nervous. He had a scheduled meeting with the Washington family to discuss their new responsibilities once the Jeffersons officially became the second most influential family. The letter of invitation they had sent had arrived mere hours before the meeting was to take place, sending the Lord into a rushed frenzy.

Not wanting to add to his frazzled stress, you tore your eyes away from the statue and walked over to the Lord and Lady. You stood about a foot behind them as Thomas walked past you to stand right next to his father. Then, you felt Alexander's arm wrap around your own as you all walked up to the enormous front door.

Thomas had thrown quite a tantrum this morning upon learning that Alexander would be coming along. Initially, the Lord had planned to take him to the meeting to take notes, but Thomas insisted that he should be the one to join his father seeing as he was next in line to take over the family. There had been a good five minute back and forth dispute between them until the Lord finally folded and agreed to take Thomas into the meeting instead. The only reason Alexander was still allowed to come along was because you needed an escort while Thomas was away at the meeting. Naturally, Thomas wasn't thrilled about this as he still had his suspicions about you two, but for now it seemed that the prospect of going to this meeting outweighed his distrust in you.

Once your group reached the door, two servants opened it in perfect unison. A maid then greeted you and lead everyone deep into the Manor where Lord and Lady Washington were waiting.

"It is a pleasure to have your family in our home Lord and Lady Jefferson. I'm not very fond of formalities, so for today's purposes you may call me George and my wife Martha," Lord Washington said as he gave Lord Jefferson a firm handshake.

"And you may call us by our first names as well," Lord Jefferson said. "This is my wife Jane and my son Thomas. He'll be joining us in today's meeting."

"It's a pleasure to be here," Thomas said with a respectful nod.

The Lord quickly picked up where he left off. "Behind me is my future daughter-in-law, (y/n)," you gave a small curtsy, "and with her is my personal assistant, Alexander. He will be accompanying her today while we're off at the meeting."

Lord Washington nodded before making a sweeping motion towards the East wing. "Well, now that we have the introductions out of the way lets head off into the meeting room."

You watched as the three men disappeared down a long hall, leaving only you, Alexander, and both Ladies in the sitting room. There was a split second of awkward silence before Lady Washington spoke.

"Please, have a seat. Would any of you like some tea? I believe we have some freshly made pastries as well."

At the offer, Lady Jefferson slowly sank into a nearby chair. "No pastries for me, but I will take some rosemary tea if you have it."

Lady Washington nodded and you were just about to put in your tea request when Alexander cut into the conversation.

"You wouldn't happen to have a library, would you?"

Lady Washington blinked curiously. "Why, yes, I can have the maid take you there if you'd like." She turned to the maid who had brought you all into the Manor. Straightening her back, she gave Alexander a quick bow.

"This way, please," she said meekly.

You quickly glanced over at Lady Jefferson, who nodded her permission over to you. Giving Alexander a confused look, you followed the maid up a nearby flight of stairs. She then took you through a dimly lit hall that lead to a single door.

"The library is right inside," she told you. "Would you two like me to bring you anything?"

"No, but could you come collect us once the meeting is over," Alexander asked. The maid nodded and quickly excused herself.

Now that the two of you were alone, you unwrapped your arm from Alexander's. "Why did you want to come to the library?"

"I enjoy reading and if the rest of the Manor is anything to go by this might be the most extravagant library I'll ever set foot in. Besides, I think books would make better company than the Ladies." With that, he quickly opened the door and stepped inside. Sighing, you followed him and closed the door behind you.

Turning around, the full force of the library hit you. There were dozens of large shelves that stretched all the way to the ceiling. Several tall, rolling ladders rested along their sides, making it easy to reach the highest books. In the middle of the room was a large desk and chairs that were designed with comfort in mind. There was even a window that provided natural lighting and a nice view of the estate.

Alexander was thrilled at the sight. He immediately broke away from you and began scouring the shelves. Less than twenty seconds had passed before he had pulled out two armfuls of books.

"Do you know what you're grabbing or are you just taking whatever's in arm's reach?" Going to a nearby shelf, you slowly searched for something that might be interesting.

"I'm taking historical and record keeping books. There's a lot of knowledge to unpack in them," he told you. You could see him struggling to get all the books to the desk from your peripheral vision.

"Don't you deal with those enough during work? Not to be rude, but record keeping books sound particularly bland. I don't understand why anyone would willingly read them."

"I'm just used to the material. I used to work as a clerk when I was younger and had to keep records of everything that was sold."

Your ears perked up at this. "You used to be a clerk?" Turning away from the books, you looked directly at Alexander. He had somehow managed to get everything on the desk and was now reading a book that looked to be at least a thousand pages long.

Not looking up from his book, he nodded. "I had to get work anywhere I could after my mother died. It wasn't the most glamorous job in the world. but the pay was decent."

"Your mother passed away?" Your search for a book was completely forgotten as you made your way over to the desk. Taking a seat, you began to realize how little you actually knew about Alexander. "How?"

Alexander shuffled in his seat, but didn't look away from his book. "Yellow fever. I got sick as well, but recovered. Once she was gone I got a job as a clerk for an import-export firm. The work itself was similar to what Lord Jefferson has me doing today, but it was on a much smaller scale."

Curious, you reached over and opened one of the record keeping books he had picked out. There were several columns drawn out with products marked down with swirled handwriting along with dates and times. "So this was what you did all day at work?"

He looked away from his own book and nodded. "It was much simpler than it looks. It only took me about two weeks to get the hang of everything, which was a good thing. I was the youngest person working at the firm which meant I had to be twice as good to get the same recognition."

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

You couldn't help but to jump in your seat. "Twelve and already working at a firm? Was your father also a worker there?"

He shook his head. "My father left my family when I was ten years old. I landed the job all on my own."

You stared at him for a good while, trying to process everything he was telling you. Not only had he lost his mother, but his father abandoned his family and he still managed to get himself back on his feet. "But if your mother and father were both gone where were you living?"

By this time Alexander had also forgotten about his books. "A cousin took me in. I lived with him for about a year until he committed suicide."

"Suicide?!" Your jaw dropped in shock. If it weren't for the fact that you could see the sincerity in his eyes you might have thought Alexander was telling you an elaborate lie. His early life seemed to be filled with tragedy after tragedy. 

He nodded solemnly at your outburst. "He left everything to his mistress and son, so I had to find a new place to live with a merchant I knew. I continued to work at the firm and gained a love for reading. I'm basically a self educated man."

"So how did you go from a twelve year old clerk to the personal assistant of Peter Jefferson?"

"There was a large hurricane that struck the place I lived when I was seventeen and---"

"Wait, a hurricane? I don't remember there being a hurricane that recently," you cut in.

After a split second, Alexander chuckled. "Sorry, I forgot to mention all of this was happening down in the Caribbean. I wasn't actually born here." Closing the book that was still in front of him, he pushed it to the side in order to rest his arms comfortably on the desk. "Like I was saying there was a massive hurricane when I was seventeen years old and I wrote about it. My writing was published in a paper and gained enough popularity for the public to start a fund to get me to America for a proper education. I went to University, graduated top of my class, and ended up getting hired as Lord Jefferson's personal assistant after the last one was fired. And so, here we are."

It took a moment for your words to catch up with your racing mind. "That's...quite the life story you have. I had no idea so much had happened to you."

"Well the worst of it seems to be behind me. If I could get through those early years on my own then I'm certain I can get through anything. So, what about you? What's your story?"

"Oh no," you shook your head. "I don't have anything worth sharing. I would't want to bore you."

"Come on, everyone has their own life story. Go ahead and share. I'd feel guilty for dropping all my past baggage on you if you didn't."

"Well alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. I've lived in the same Manor my whole life with my younger brother and sister. Shortly after my sister was born my father just...disappeared. I don't know if he passed away or abandoned us, but even at the time it didn't bother me much. I never really spent any time with him."

Alexander's brows furrowed. "Really? Why?"

"Since my brother is the one who's going to become the head of our family my father was mostly around him. He never really paid much attention to me because I'm a girl. I didn't have time to let it bother me though. Mother was always trailing behind me, making sure I was acting like a proper lady. I didn't really have much of a childhood in that regard. By the time I was six I started going off to Summer Leave with Thomas' family." You couldn't help but frown at the memory. "Things were horrible back then. Thomas and James would regularly bully me and pull awful pranks. I got tired of it and started giving them the same treatment."

"And you had to deal with those two all on your own?"

You nodded. "After a while I just started avoiding them. Thankfully James grew out of it by the time we were fifteen, but Thomas never seemed to leave his bratty behavior behind."

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Classic Thomas."

You searched your brain for more to say, but nothing came up. "Well, other than that nothing worth mentioning has happened to me. Everything has more or less stayed the same: an over controlling mother, a horrible match between Thomas and me, the horror that comes along with Summer Leave. Living my life is just going through the motions at this point."

Adjusting his position, Alexander gave you a peculiar look. "Haven't you ever thought about changing that? I never really understood the silly tradition of Summer Leave. I think that two people, no matter how compatible they might be, will always have some underlying animosity towards each other if they're constantly being pushed together. If you're just going through the motions its obvious you aren't living life to the fullest. You should really start taking initiative and do the things you want rather than what's expected of you."

Your shoulders tensed as the weight of his words hit you. All your life you had tried to stay out of trouble by doing what you were told and while the thought of acting as your own person had entered your mind on occasion you had never actually explored the idea in fear of being punished. "Well what about you? Is working behind the scenes as an assistant what you'd consider living life to the fullest? After working together with you these past few weeks and hearing a bit more about your life it's obvious that you have a lot of ambition and drive. I'll admit that I've had no hand in shaping my future, but I can't imagine that the same is true for you. So what are your goals?"

"I want to become someone important with influence. I have hundreds, maybe closer to thousands, of ideas on how to improve the quality of life here. There are so many financial and social problems plaguing the land and I want to be the one to fix them." There was a fire in his eyes as he spoke and although they shyly lowered down to look at his feet, the flames of determination were still present. "Of course I have no idea how I'm going to get into a position of power. I dabbled in law while I was off at University, but I never got the opportunity to practice before I took the job with Lord Jefferson."

He was silent for a moment, basking in his memories. Just when you were going to say something, he started back up again. "You know I was pretty excited when the Lord told me I was going to be accompanying him today. I thought that if I could find a way to impress George Washington he'd be able to get me connected with people or maybe even offer me work, but of course Thomas had to go and ruin that for me."

Unsure of what to say, you simply parroted his earlier words. "Classic Thomas."

"You know, I looked into how we could potentially save those businesses and some...unfortunate things came up."

The change in his tone made your stomach churn. "What kind of unfortunate things?"

"There's a few major businesses that have a monopoly going, making it hard for small owners to get started. It just so happens that these monopolies also donate generous amounts of money to high ranking families, which is why they're able to keep a stronghold on their specific dealings. Basically, unless we can get all the families to stop taking these donations there's nothing we can do to save the smaller businesses."

"They're never going to give up the extra money," you said. "There's really nothing else we can do?"

Alexander scoffed. "Nothing short of burning the monopolies down ourselves, but we both know we can't exactly do that."

There was a sudden knock at the door before the maid from before stepped inside. "I've been informed that today's meeting will be lengthier than originally planned. More families will be arriving soon and Lord and Lady Washington are giving everyone full access to the estate for the afternoon." With that, she quickly bowed and went on her way.

Your brows creased at her announcement. "Why would more families be coming down? I thought this was supposed to be a one on one meting between the Washingtons and Jeffersons."

Getting up from his seat, Alexander shrugged. "If there's one thing I've learned it's that rich people hate to be out of the loop. Someone must have caught wind of today's meeting and sounded the alarm. I'd say _at least_ the five richest families in the land will be coming."

Your eyes followed his back as he walked towards the door. "Where are you going? I thought you wanted to read the books."

"I can always ask Lord Washington if I can borrow them, but the chance to explore his estate might not come up again. I want to take advantage of it before the crowd starts to arrive."

Turning back to the pile of books, you gave them one last uncertain stare before following after Alexander. He was your escort after all and the thought of being alone in such a large place was unsettling.

Once you were both out in the hall, you took hold of Alexander's arm as he began to walk in a random direction. You did your best to make a mental map of where you were going while also admiring the interior design. The white walls were accented with gold and silver lined window frames and intricately woven patterns. The tile was a polished marble and there was a soft mixture of natural early afternoon and candle light in the hall.

During your gawking, Alexander lead you to a nearby window and pointed down at a group of people exiting a carriage. "That's the Franklin family. If i had to guess I'd say they're the ones who found out about the meeting and got other families to come."

Squinting your eyes, you tried to get a good look at them. "The name is familiar. I think I've met them at some of the balls the Madisons have thrown."

You could see Alexander shaking his head from the reflection in the window. "Sometimes I forget how little you know about the families from around here. What were you planning to do once you became the Lady of Jefferson Manor?"

"I never thought all that hard about it," you admitted. "Actually it's something I actively avoid thinking about, but if I'm going to be collecting donations with Dorothea I should probably study up."

"Here's the quick rundown: The Washington family is the richest and most influential, but then again you already knew that. I can't offer you much knowledge on them since they're so secretive. The Burr family was the second most powerful family in the land, but once the oldest son Aaron took over their wealth has been plummeting. Lots of bad investments and unwillingness to make certain moves," he explained. "Which is why the Jefferson family has moved from third place to second and the Madison family has moved from fourth to third. The Franklin family comes in fourth and are very involved in the political and scientific scene. The Burrs now rest comfortably at number five, then the Jay family is sixth, and your family ranks at seventh."

"You really did your homework," you said.

"What can I say? Gathering information is a hobby."

You watched as the Franklin family walked up to the front door of the estate. "We should head down and say hello. I want to be on their good side so they'll be generous when it comes time to ask for donations."

"Good idea," Alexander agreed. True to his claim of having a natural sense of direction, he was able to get you both back to the library, find the the flight of stairs, and get back down to the sitting area, It seemed you were right on time, too. The head of the Franklin family was being shown to the meeting room while his family got comfortable.

Lady Jefferson was the first to catch sight of your return. "(Y/n), Alexander, I'm glad you made it back. As you can see the Franklin family has joined us."

You gave a formal curtsy. "It's a pleasure to see you all. We've never formally met, but I'm (y/n) (l/n)."

Next to you, Alexander bowed. "Alexander Hamilton. I'm Lord Jefferson's personal assistant."

Lady Franklin nodded in acknowledgement. "The Lord's personal assistant? Shouldn't you be in the meeting then?"

"His son Thomas wanted to be present for the meeting so I'm here escorting Miss. (l/n) in his place," Alexander explained.

"I see," she replied. "I'm head of the Franklin household along with my husband. This is our daughter, Sarah."

A young woman about your age gave the smallest inclination of her head. "It's a pleasure."

"Well, since it'll be a while before everyone else arrives why don't the three of you have a look around? That is, if it's alright with you," Lady Jefferson told Lady Franklin.

"Yes, it's not very often that one is given free reign of the Washington estate. Alexander, can I trust you to keep an eye on Sarah as well?"

There was a slight pause before his response. "Of course."

"Perfect! We'll send someone to collect you all once the others turn up."

And with that, Sarah Franklin rose from her seat and took Alexander's other arm. The three of you then headed out the front door and onto the lawn.

The tense air around the three of you grew as no one spoke. You kept looking up at Alexander, hoping he'd say something or lead the group to a place that was more exciting, but he simply stood there, leaving you all a mere five feet away from the front door.

"So...is there any place in particular you two would like to see," he asked nervously. You had to bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from asking why he had agreed to bring Sarah along if he didn't have a plan in mind.

"Not really. Mostly I'm just interested in her," Sarah said while giving you a pointed look. "(Y/n) (l/n), correct? You're the one who's supposed to marry Thomas?"

Her sudden interest in you caught you off guard. "Yes?" Your answer lacked any confidence.

"Not to be rude, but the fact that he'd rather go into a meeting than be with you is very telling," she quipped. Despite her opening words, it was obvious that you were meant to take her statement as personally as possible.

"If he wants to be involved in the conversation I'm not going to stop him. He's passionate about becoming Head of the Family and wants to be as prepared as possible. His decision to join the meeting has less to do with me and more to do with his own ambitions," you said. This Sarah girl was really starting to rub you the wrong way.

"You can do mental gymnastics all you'd like, but the fact still stands that he practically abandoned you. If I had to guess I'd say he's not very satisfied with you as a partner."

"Now wait just a minute." Heated, you untangled yourself from Alexander and stood directly in front of Sarah. "I'm not going to let you make those little jabs at me. My relationship with Thomas is none of your business. Did you really only come along to be snide?"

Sarah waved her hand dismissively. "I'm just trying to figure out the situation is all. Thomas' family is _very_ important, even more so as of late. I just think that if the two of you aren't compatible then he should consider looking into other options. None of us are getting any younger and soon he'll have to take over his family's work."

Giving her and incredulous look, you placed a hand on your hip. "So what you're saying is you're interested in Thomas because of his family's powerful position?"

"What I'm saying is you must not a good match for him if he doesn't want to spend time with you. Honestly, even his father's assistant must be tired of you if he was willing to bring me, a complete stranger, along."

Finally, Alexander jumped in. "I agreed to let you come because I didn't want to seem rude, but I wouldn't expect you to understand that since it's clear that you don't care how you come off to others."

His words made her face scrunch up in anger. She moved her arm away from him and gave you both a haughty look. "Is it so wrong to want Thomas to be happier?"

"You don't want him to be happier. You just want to increase your social status," you told her. "Honestly it's pathetic that you're so threatened by me that you tried to put me down."

"Threatened?" She let out a hearty laugh. "I'm not threatened by you at all! If Thomas spent one evening with me I'm sure he'd choose me over you in a heartbeat."

"I'm only going to say this once so you better listen: I'm not going to fight over Thomas with you. If you think you can win him over that's great, but don't try to mix me in your petty little games," you warned. "I don't care what you do with Thomas, but if you try to insult me again I'm not going to be so overlooking."

"I already said I don't feel threatened by you. Let me give you a warning of my own: there are dozens of girls who have had their eyes on Thomas for years. Of course, we all knew that he was promised to you from a young age and that was enough to ward us off at first, but now that we're getting older and there's _no_ sign of a wedding people are starting to talk. If you're this frazzled by me you have no idea what's coming for you." With that, she walked off and disappeared from sight.

"Well, that was certainly something," Alexander said. "Is this what most people would would call a cat fight?"

"No, this is what most people would call a rude person trying to intimidate others," you spat. "Who does she think she is? I don't believe a single thing she says. How could there be people talking about me if I hardly ever leave the Manor?"

"I'm not sure, but another thing I've learned about rich people is that they love to talk. I know you don't like her, but there might be merit to her warning," Alexander reasoned. "You should never underestimate the extremes people are willing to go to to get what they want."

"Please," rolling your eyes, you crossed your arms. "I doubt anyone would go very far just for the chance to marry Thomas."

"That's because you actually know him. To other women he's a handsome man with power and money. You had Sarah pegged as a gold digger within seconds and that's exactly what all the other women are going to be." Pausing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Sarah might not seem all that intimidating on her own, but add a few more into the mix and we're going to have a problem on our hands. All I'm saying is that you should be careful."

"And all I'm saying is that I'm not going to let her get inside my head. I haven't given anyone a reason to hate or target me, so I'm going to go on living my life as usual. Now come on, we should stop talking about this and get some of that exploring you wanted to do done."

With that, you took Alexander by the arm and lead him through the estate for the rest of the afternoon.


	8. Comforting Old Habits

The meeting with the Washington's went on late into the evening. After the run in Sarah things had been relatively quiet, but every now and again your skin would crawl with an unpleasant sensation, almost as if you were being watched. Still, you opted to ignore the feeling and did your best to enjoy your time with Alexander.

This was the first time the two of you could openly be together without having to sneak about. It felt refreshing and as the two of you talked you began to get a better understanding of the type of person Alexander was. He was intelligent, but what set him apart from every other self proclaimed intellectual you had met was the passion behind his thoughts and ideas. He was more than willing to dedicate days, even weeks, of his time to anything he deemed a worthy investment. His work ethic was stronger than any you had ever seen, and he had compassion for those who were struggling in the world. He could also be quite charming, which was made evident by the fact that he was able to talk a maid into letting the two of you skip out on having lunch with the other guests.

Yes, the day had been a good one and you found yourself feeling at ease, but as the moon settled high into the sky and the Jefferson Manor came into view, you felt your nerves tense up. Your new dresser and vanity were sitting right by the door, waiting to be carried in.

Nervously, you exited the carriage and made your way up to the door. Behind you, Lady Jefferson was expressing how happy she was that your things had finally arrived, insisting that the workers carry it up to your room immediately.

Your stomach lurched at the thought of some random workers discovering the hidden door in your room and your mind quickly raced to try to find a good excuse to leave the vanity and dresser outside, but you were coming up with nothing. You watched with dread as Lady Jefferson stepped into the Manor and opened her mouth to speak with the closest worker.

"My lady, if you'd like, I can carry it up."

Alexander's voice sent a flood of relief into you, but it was short lived. Even you could tell that this particular piece of furniture was too large for one person to carry. No matter how he went about it, he'd need help. 

Lady Jefferson clearly shared this thought. "That's very generous of you, but it looks rather heavy. You'll need the help of at least two other men."

"Yes, but it's been a long day for all of us. Please, let me worry about finding the help while you get some rest, my Lady." Alexander gave a small bow as Lady Jefferson smiled.

"Very well, but try not to hurt yourself. I'm going into the kitchen for some tea."

As Lady Jefferson excused herself, the Lord spoke next. "Well, after that long meeting there are some notes I need to go over. Alexander, once you're done taking up (y/n)'s things I'll need your help in the study."

"Yes, my Lord," Alexander replied.

With the Lord gone only Thomas, Alexander, and you remained by the door. A few awkward seconds of silence ticked by before Alexander walked down the hall, saying something about finding help for the vanity and dresser.

Not knowing what else to do, you took a step towards the back of the Manor, intending to go to the garden, but Thomas' voice stopped you.

"So, how was your day?"

Your brow raised at the small talk, but the question seemed innocent enough. "Fine. The Washington Estate was an interesting place."

Thomas' brow creased and he looked away as if he were trying to think of what to say next. "What exactly did you get up to?"

"I went to the library for a bit and after that I explored the grounds." As per usual you began to go on the defensive, but after taking in Thomas' body language you realized that something about him was off. You felt your defenses drop for a moment as you tried to figure out where this conversation was going. "How did your meeting go?"

His jaw tightened and he still wouldn't look at you. "It was fine until all those other families decided to drop by. I could hardly get a word in with all of them speaking over each other."

Well, the meeting certainly hadn't gone as Thomas had planned. If you had to guess, this was probably the first time in his life he hadn't been listened to. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad. The meeting was mostly about how the Jefferson and Washington families were going to be working more closely together, wasn't it? I can't imagine that there'd be any serious discussions going on."

"Well it wasn't supposed to be anything serious, but there's certain... _ideas_ I've been working on for a while now and I wanted to run them by Lord Washington." Frowning, Thomas finally looked up. "I know all those other men have their own agendas, but I outrank them. They should have stayed out of the discussion," shaking his head, he started over. "No, they should have stayed out of the _meeting_ until we held another for all the families. Honestly, they all treated me like I'm some clueless child."

His voice was dripping with venom, obviously indignant to the way he had been treated. It had clearly hurt his ego, something he wouldn't want his father to see, which was why he was now venting to you.

"Well, I do agree that they shouldn't have invited themselves to the private meeting, but you shouldn't let them get to you. It's like you said: they have their own agendas. Of course they're not going to listen to you. I doubt they were listening to anyone," you reasoned.

"But they didn't have to look at me like some toddler who had no business in the meeting," he growled. Clearly he wasn't going to let the mistreatment go.

"You know how it is around here. Unmarried men and women, regardless of status, tend to be overlooked. You and I both know you won't inherit your family's full power until we're..." Your words drifted off as you cleared your throat. Even Thomas opted to looked up at the ceiling once the uncomfortable topic was in the air.

Neither of you said anything for a good while. The subject of marriage always managed to change the energy of a conversation to either haughty dislike or unbearable awkwardness, and right now it was obviously the latter. You were both frozen in your discomfort for so long that Alexander managed to come back with three other men and haul the vanity and dresser halfway up the stairs before Thomas was able to speak.

"It always comes down to marriage, doesn't it?" Smirking, Thomas looked down at you and crossed his arms. It was jarring to see him go from uncharacteristically bothered too his usual rude and teasing behavior. "If I asked you to marry me right now, what would you do? Say no?"

Frowning, you crossed your own arms. "We both know I can't do that." Yes, this was better. This was _familiar_. Even though it did you both no favors, it was easier to slip into the usual hateful dynamic you shared than to try to come to terms with the future neither of you desired.

"Well, seeing as you know you have no choice you should be thanking me every day I don't propose," he sneered.

Narrowing your eyes, your turned your back to him. "You're such a prince. If you don't mind I have other things I'd rather be doing."

With those parting words, you walked to the other side of the Manor and into the garden where you kept yourself occupied until you couldn't stay up any longer. Everyone else in the Manor had fallen asleep by then, giving you a long, quiet walk up to your room where you were pleased to find Alexander had successfully moved your new dresser and vanity. Upon closer inspection, you saw he had left it far enough away from the wall for you to slip in and out of the door.

Changing into your nightgown, you settled into bed for a split second before throwing the covers off your body. Something was bothering you; something you had never noticed yourself feel before. It was true that the day had been unorthodox, but it was truly getting under your skin. 

The worst part was that you knew exactly what was wrong, but you refused to let yourself think about it. Getting up, you looked around for some parchment and a pen before writing a long overdue response to Amalee's letter.

_Dear Amalee,_

_Forgive me for not writing back sooner; things have been very hectic around here. In your last letter you mentioned the Madison family ball, but did you know that at that very ball James' family announced that he was engaged? Well, the news certainly took everyone by surprise. His fiancee is a young woman named Dorothea who lives in a different sector. I've spent a bit of time with her and am pleased to find that she is a wonderful person and quite good company, but Thomas was furious that James had kept such an important secret from him._

_Still, while the engagement was certainly a surprise, it was nothing compared to being invited to the Washington Estate. The Washington family is the richest and most influential family in the land. Their estate is the largest I've ever seen and is tastefully decorated from the ground up. I'm not sure if you know this, but due to certain changes in the social climate, the Jefferson family is now the second most influential and wealthy family in the land, which is why we were invited by the Washington's in the first place. Both heads of the families were supposed to have a meeting to discuss the newfound responsibilities and cooperative measures that will be taken by both families in the future, but the meeting was interrupted by several other families who wanted to be a part of the planning._

_Well, as you can imagine, Thomas wasn't too pleased about this. In fact, we had a rather strange conversation about it earlier today, but the fact of the matter is that Thomas hates not getting his way._

_Still, the trip was a pleasurable one for me, save for one rather rude girl I met named Sarah. She's the type to try to beat her fellow women down in the hopes of raising herself up. Believe it or not, she seems to have taken a shallow liking to Thomas and even threatened me because of my relationship to him. Of course, I didn't let her phase me. I'm sure all of her threats are empty and unfounded._

_To be completely honest with you, while all of these things have been happening to me, I can't help but wonder what's going on with you and that boy Issac. Did he end up going to the Brown family dinner party? Has mother met him yet? And, at the risk of sounding like a nag, have you firmly assessed whether or not this boy is someone worth giving your affection to? I don't want you to rush into anything, especially not when you barely know this boy._

_I know it's hypocritical of me to ask this when I've been sitting on your last letter for several days, but please write back to me as soon as you can. I feel completely disconnected from home without your letters and love being brought back up to speed._

_Remember to take care of yourself and send everyone my regards._

_Your favorite sister,  
(Y/n)_


	9. It's a Secret of the Trees

Your fingers nervously grabbed at the crescent shaped earrings resting on your earlobe as your carriage stopped right outside the gate of the Madison Manor. Thomas had surprised you with the news that you would be paying James and Dorothea a visit, but you managed to dig these earrings out of your jewelry box before heading out. Even better, you managed to walk past Alexander, who got a good look at them.

What with all the planning for the upcoming wedding, Thomas was seeing less and less of James, which meant he was going to use this visit as an opportunity to make up for lost time. Meaning that you and Dorothea had all day to start collecting donations for the orphanages and schools.

Following Thomas, you exited the carriage and were escorted up to the study were James and Dorothea were waiting. Once there, Thomas made a beeline for the chair next to James, not even bothering to knowledge Dorothea before chatting James up. Trying to make up for his rude behavior, you decided to greet her first.

"Dorothea how have you been?" You held your hands out, making her get out of her seat to grab them in a greeting.

"I've been doing well! James and I have been busy with planning the wedding. We have some key elements figured out, but I'm hoping to get all the details sorted out in time to have a winter wedding." She stared off dreamily as she said this. "And yourself?"

"I've been fine. Nothing too exciting to report," you said while glancing over at the boys. You gave James a quick greeting and turned back to Dorothea. "Since these two are going to spend the day catching up we should make the most of our time. What do you think about heading into town?"

Dorothea's brows creased as she inclined her head. "Town? What for?"

Your hands nervously clenched the skirt of your dress. Your mind raced to figure out a way to discreetly tell her you wanted to slip away to start getting donations. "It'll be a good opportunity to get inspiration for the wedding. We can look in different shops and try to see if we can get any _charitable_ deals."

Dorothea's eyes widened as she began to understand. "Oh! You're right, it would be a good use of this free time. James, darling, (y/n) and I are going out for a bit. We'll be back in a few hours time."

"Very well, let me call for an escort." James was just about to get up from his seat when you used your body to block him.

"Thank you, but we'll be fine on our own. It'll just be some window shopping," you assured him.

He considered your words before settling back down in his seat. "Alright, but don't go to far from the carriage. I want to driver to be able to watch over you both."

"Don't worry, we won't stray very far." With that promise, Dorothea pulled you out the study and up towards a flight of stairs.

"Where are we going? I thought we were leaving," you said as she took you into a bedroom. Upon closer inspection, you realized it was her bedroom.

"We are, but I figured we'd need something to keep all the donations in." Opening a trunk, she took out an empty, good sized jewelry box. "Do you think this is big enough?"

"I think it'll do for now. It's only our first time doing this," you reasoned. After nodding in understanding, Dorothea held the box under her arm and lead the way to the carriage that was waiting outside.

"Take us into town please. To the Lee residence," she said before climbing in. Once you stepped in after her, the driver closed the door and the two of you were off.

Dorothea was practically bursting with excitement now that the two of you were alone. Her eyes shone happily as she gushed about how electric this all felt. Meanwhile, you were going over a mental script in your mind, hoping to increase your chances of a generous donation. You knew how cautious people could be with their money and you knew it was going to be an uphill battle trying to convince anyone to give you a single cent.

The minutes ticked by and despite your efforts to stay calm, your nervous started to bubble once the carriage came to a stop and the door was opened, revealing the Lee residence. You were the first to step out and once your feet were firmly on the ground you took a few deep, grounding breaths. You needed to come off as confident if you were going to pull this off. There was no room for error.

Once Dorothea was standing at your side, the driver took the carriage off to the side of the home where he'd wait until the two of you were done with your business.

"Well, it's now or never," you told her, trying your best to seem self assured. Turning your head, you tried to meet her eyes, but to your surprise she was staring off into the distance. Confused, you placed your hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

She stiffened slightly and did her best to laugh whatever it was that just happened off. "Yes, yes, it's silly. I thought I saw something over by those trees," she pointed to a group of tall oak trees lining the edge of the property. "It was probably just some leaves floating in the wind."

Even as she tried to play it off, you could tell she wasn't convinced that it was merely leaves, but seeing as you had work to do you dropped the subject. Now that you had your attention back on the matter at hand, you marched right up to the door and delivered two strong knocks. While waiting for someone to answer, you tossed your hair behind your shoulders, straightened your back, and look straight ahead. Making a good first impression was essential.

However, as the seconds ticked by with no response, Dorothea gave you a skeptical look. "Maybe you should try knocking again?"

Forming your hand into a fist, you were just about to deliver another round of loud knocks, but your hand quickly fell back to your side when you heard a lock coming undone. The door opened slightly and a small brown dog came barreling out, followed closely by an irritated yell.

"Tippet! Tippet! Get back here!" There was an irritated sigh as the door opened wide enough to reveal a disgruntled looking woman. "Honestly, no matter how careful you are that dog always manages to get out." Shaking her head in disapproval, the woman finally looked down at Dorothea and you. "How may I help you?"

This initial meeting was a bit unusual, but you did your best to get back on your feet. "Hello Lady Lee, my name is (y/n) and this is my friend Dorothea. If you have some time we'd like to inquire about---"

Suddenly, Lady Lee gave the box Dorothea was holding a hard look. "If this is about the church I've already made my monthly donation."

Taken aback by her interruption, you stumbled over your words, but thankfully Dorothea came to the rescue. "We aren't with the church. This is a charity we're starting all on our own."

Her straightforwardness surprised both you and Lady Lee, but Lady Lee's surprise quickly turned into something else. Her brows knitted together curiously as her arms folded together. 

"Your own charity?" She let the words hang in the air for several seconds. Just as you were beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, Lady Lee stepped to the side. "Come on inside."

Dorothea walked into the home with no hesitation and you slowly followed her. Once you were both inside, Lady Lee closed the door and took you both into a small sitting room.

Looking around, you noticed the home wasn't necessarily small. but it was certainly smaller than you were used to. You could only see about three maids walking about and one of them soon disappeared to fetch some tea. Still, even with the lack of space the home was nicely furnished.

The three of you sat in silence until the tea was brought in. Lady Lee picked up her cup, took a quiet sip, and finally spoke. "Alright, lets hear it."

Deciding to take the initiative, you began to explain. "Well, as we all know, this sector is no stranger to charity work. So much of our time is spent giving what we can to the church, and while that is a noble cause, we were thinking that we could take things a step further and help the sector in even more ways." You waited to see if Lady Lee would take the bait and ask what you meant by 'more ways', but she continued to sit quietly. Giving yourself a mental shake, you continued. "Our poorest citizens go through hardships that we can't even begin to imagine and while the church does its part to help them with food and water we've all completely forgotten about a group that needs more than this."

Turning to Dorothea, you nodded, signaling for her to take over. "The children of the sector are suffering more than anyone else! Just looking at their school buildings can tell us that. They're run down and from what I've heard terribly understaffed. These children are the future; it's a crime to put them at such an educational disadvantage!"

Picking up where she left on, you did your best to keep the ball rolling. "Not to mention all the poor orphans who can't even get an education at all. The orphanages here are becoming much too small to house all these children and there is a horrifying lack of opportunities for these children. That's what we're hoping to change. If the whole sector comes together we can renovate the schools and orphanages to give these children a better quality of life."

As you finished your pitch, you locked your eyes with Lady Lee's. Her expression was firm, yet unreadable. There was no hint of what she was thinking and you found yourself slowly losing your confidence. 

"Who else is involved with this new charity?"

There was a spark of panic that ran in the space between you and Dorothea. "No one your Ladyship," Dorothea answered. "It's just us."

Lady Lee shifted in her seat. "Just you two? Tell me, how much are you hoping to raise? Moreover, how are you planning to give the donations to these schools and orphanages? Are you just going to hand it all over and hope they use it for what it was intended to do? How are you going to oversea this project?"

These questions not only caught you off guard, but they were doing a thorough of making you feel like an idiot. You hadn't actually calculated the exact amount of money you would need to save these places and, harsh as it may sound. Lady Lee was right. You had no way of making sure the people in charge of these establishments actually used the money to help these kids. For all you knew they might take the money and run.

"We...haven't thought of that," Dorothea admitted. She sunk back in her seat, obviously embarrassed.

"Haven't thought of it?" The Lady's eyes scanned both your features. "You're the Jefferson and Madison girls aren't you?" She didn't wait for a response, but instead nodded to herself. "I'm sure you have plenty of resources at your disposal. Now that you know how ill prepared you were for all of this it'll be no problem to get the help you need with all the logistics of the matter."

Before you could stop her, Dorothea blurted out with panic, "We can't ask anyone for help! We have to keep this project a secret!"

If Lady Lee wasn't sitting across from you, you would have hit your head against a wall. You couldn't believe Dorothea said that. Now the two of you would surely be in for another round of questions you weren't prepared to answer. Picking up your cup, you downed your tea in an attempt to calm your nerves.

"Keep it a secret?" As Lady Lee spoke, you could tell Dorothea finally understood the gravity of what she had said by the way she bit her lip. Just as you were getting ready to face whatever it was Lady Lee had to say, she surprised you by nodding in what seemed to be...approval? "You know, I've always wondered if there were any women in this sector who saw things the way I do. I admire your drive to start up this project without the help of the men in your life. It's about time us women discovered our worth and capabilities."

Your jaw nearly dropped. "Come again?"

Reaching for her purse, Lady Lee took out a small checkbook and pen. "Now that everything is out in the clear I'll take it upon myself to help you girls with all the behind the scenes work. I'll get in touch with as many schools and orphanages as I can and let them know what's going on. I can also point you in the direction of some other women who might be willing to donate, but don't think it'll be easy. So many of them are afraid to do anything without their husbands' permission so the battle will be hard, but worth it." With that, she ripped two checks out of the book. "It's not much, but it's a start. If I were you two I'd talk with Lady Mulligan next. She's a bit jumpy, but has a good heart. I'm sure she'd be willing to donate." 

Still shocked, you took both checks and nearly gasped. One was for a nearby school and the other was for the closest orphanage. Both of them were worth a thousand dollars.

Next to you, Dorothea glanced at the checks. "Won't your husband be upset with you for donating all this money?"

Lady Lee's head cocked in confusion. "Husband? Oh, you mean Charles!" She laughed to herself for a long while. "Charles is my brother, not my husband. Trust me, even if he had any qualms with it he wouldn't be able to stop me. I actually handle all our finances," she said proudly. "That's why I'm so glad you girls are starting this charity. As I said, it's about time the women of this sector realized they can make a difference in the world without the help of their husbands."

You made small talk with the Lady for a short while after that. It was such a relief to have someone else backing up the project and you were immensely grateful. With Lady Lee now on board you had yet another safety net in case things started to go wrong.

After finishing another round of tea, both you and Dorothea said your goodbyes. Placing the checks in the jewelry box, you both walked of the the Lee home and back towards the carriage.

"I can't believe how well that went!" You were riding a high as you approached the tree covered edge of the property. "We should head straight down to the Mulligan residence. We need to ride this wave of good luck as far as it will take us."

"(Y/n)?" Dorothea stopped in her tracks as she spoke your name. "I don't mean to bring the mood down, but do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?"

"Watched?" You scanned the area, but saw nothing but trees and shadows. "Not usually, why? Did you see something again?"

"I-I'm not sure," she admitted. "I can't tell if it's nerves or...I don't even know." She shook her head sadly, clearly bothered by her inability to put her thoughts into words.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, you did your best to put her at ease. "Things are going well for us, but the talk with Lady Lee threw us for a spin. I'm sure you'll feel better once we get back in the carriage and rest."

Finding her resolve Dorothea nodded and made a beeline for the carriage. You let her climb in first and you followed closely behind, but something suddenly flickered into your peripheral vision. Turning your head, you saw the unmistakable flutter of pale rose satin disappearing behind a tree.

You did your best to try to forget what you saw on the way to the Mulligan residence for both Dorothea's sake and yours. You knew it'd be disastrous to even mention it to her, so for now you decided to keep it under wraps. It was probably nothing either way, but even as you tried to convince yourself of this you couldn't help but get a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Thankfully, the Lee and Mulligan homes were fairly close to each other, so you didn't have much time to worry before you were back to work. Grabbing Dorothea's arm, you quickly dragged her over to the front door. You'd be damned if you gave her enough time to look around and frazzle your nerves even more with claims of seeing and feeling things.

Knocking on the door, you were surprised by how quickly it was answered. An older looking maid with a cloth in her hand gave a small bow as she addressed you.

"Are you two part of the Laurens family?"

Your back stiffened at the question. "What? No."

Looking up, the maid's face fell. "Really? The Lord has been waiting for their visit for over an hour now..." her voice trailed off before she regained her wits. "Please, state your business."

"We're here to see Lady Mulligan," Dorothea explained. 

The maid's face creased with confusion. "The Lady? I don't recall her saying she was going to have company."

As the maid racked her mind to see if she had forgotten this piece of information, you jumped in. "This is very last minute. Please, tell her Lady Lee sent us. I'm sure she'll make time for our visit."

The maid weighed her options for a bit before nodding. "Wait here." With that she closed the door in your face.

Frowning, Dorothea huffed. "Well that was rude."

"Lets just hope she relays the message," you said.

The minutes ticked by and there was no sign of the maid returning. Growing impatient, Dorothea stepped off the porch and walked over to a nearby window. You watched as her neck craned in every direction before her cheeks puffed out in anger.

"I can't see anyone! That maid probably ran off without telling the Lady anything!" Still fuming, she stomped back over to you. "I can't stand it when people are this rude! She could have told us to leave instead of having us wait out here!"

You had never seen Dorothea this angry before. Come to think of it, you'd never seen her angry at all, but this reaction made sense. From the moment you met her you knew Dorothea was an honest, straightforward girl. All her emotions, whether they were happiness, nervousness, or doubt, were clear as day. Anger shouldn't be any different.

"Dorothea, try to calm down---"

"I will not calm down! It's common courtesy!" Raising her fist, she got ready to bang on the door. "No one is going to disrespect me and my friend!" At that exact moment the door opened, revealing a well dressed woman. Dorothea's fist froze in place as the began to sputter. "L-Lady Mulligan!" Letting the fist fall to her side, Dorothea's cheeks burned bright red. "I---we didn't think you were coming."

Equally caught off guard, Lady Mulligan's hands twiddled together. "Oh! I'm sorry for that wait I was out in the garden. I---was someone yelling? I thought I heard yelling."

Dorothea looked mortified and you quickly stepped in. "Oh, it was just a group of boys. You know how they can be," you said. "May we come in?"

Lady Mulligan glanced around nervously before nodding. "Yes, follow me out to the garden." She took you down a long corridor and through another door located at the back of the house that lead to the garden. "Would you two like anything? I have some pastries...or something to drink?"

You were beginning to realize what Lady Lee meant when she said Lady Mulligan was jumpy. "No thank you, we're fine for now. Right Dorothea?" You nudged her side and she snapped to attention.

"Right."

"Oh," Lady Mulligan looked down at the red step stones before coming to her senses. "Here, let's sit." She swept her arms over the chairs on the patio and the three of you made your way over. Once everyone was settled Lady Mulligan lowered her eyes. "I was told Lady Lee sent you?"

"That's right. She pointed us in your direction because she believed you could help with our cause." You looked over at Dorothea and frowned when you saw she was staring off into the distance.

Lady Mulligan shifted in her seat. "Cause? What cause?"

You quickly dove into a short explanation. "We're trying to raise money for the schools and orphanages in the sector. On top of that, it's the first project lead entirely by women. Dorothea and myself are the founders of the charity and Lady Lee is going to be helping us as well."

As the Lady fidgeted in her seat your posture remained strong. "Lead by women? So the men of the sector won't have a part in it?"

"They won't. To tell you the truth they don't even know about it. Not only is this project about helping the children, it's also about proving women's worth to society," you explained. If this line of reasoning was enough to get Dorothea and Lady Lee on board you hoped it would work for Lady Mulligan.

To your disappointment, her shoulders got tense. "I don't think I'd be able to support something so...secretive," she said. "I don't feel comfortable with the idea of going behind my husband's back."

Your brows furrowed as you tried to think of a way to make things sound better than what she was saying. "It's not going behind his back per se. Think of it as a surprise. I'm sure any husband would be happy to find out his wife helped with such a noble cause. Right Dorothea?"

As you kicked her foot, Dorothea jumped slightly in surprise. "Ow!"

You inclined your head towards Lady Mulligan. "I was just telling Lady Mulligan how any husband would take pride in the fact that their wife was part of such a noble cause. Don't you agree?"

"Oh! Yes, of course," she agreed. "You can also keep your donation anonymous if you'd like."

"B-but it still feels wrong somehow. He'd be upset if I gave away any money without telling him, and I'm sure he'd notice if any of it was gone, no matter how small the amount," Lady Mulligan squeaked. "It's not right to be so sneaky with money."

It was clear you weren't going to break through her walls any time soon. Frowning, you let out a quiet sigh. "If you're that against it then we won't push it any further. It wouldn't be charity if we forced you to donate," you reasoned. "If you change your mind at any point please tell Lady Lee about it so she can relay the message to us."

"I'm not a bad person you know," Lady Mulligan said in a panic. "I genuinely hope these children get the help they need."

"We don't think you're a bad person Lady Mulligan," you said. "There's nothing wrong with not wanting to go around in secret." You of all people would know. Keeping so many things hidden could get exhausting. "Well, I hope you have a nice day despite the nervousness our visit caused you." Gathering your things, you rose from the table.

"Wait!" The Lady wrapped her arms around herself and lowered her voice. "If you can get more people to donate, enough to the point where you know for sure you'll be able to help all those children, I'll donate."

Your eyes widened. "Really?"

"I'm sure my husband wouldn't mind if I gave to a charity that wasn't going to fail..."

Your expression softened into a smile. "Thank you Lady Mulligan. I promise you that we'll come straight here once we've raised enough money. Come on Dorothea," you tapped her on the shoulder and she quickly rose from her seat and followed you out to the front yard.

"That went well," she commented as she got into the carriage.

"I'm surprised you noticed. I had to do everything myself," you said with slight annoyance. "What were you looking at?"

Dorothea looked down at her lap in shame. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to abandon you," she apologized. "I just wanted to make sure there was nothing unusual out there. I know it's irrational, but I really do think there's something keeping an eye on us." She shivered. "It feels dangerous somehow."

You looked off to the side, unsure of what to do. It'd be easier to just reassure her that she was imagining things, but when the memory of that pale pink satin floated through your head you wondered if you should tell her what you had seen. At the very least she'd know she isn't crazy.

"Dorothea---"

Before you could say anything else, there was a loud crashing sound as something fell to the floor of the carriage. The driver jerked into a hard stop on the middle of the road, causing you to nearly topple out of your seat. Dorothea let out a shrill scream and the carriage door swung open.

"My Ladies, are you alright?!" The driver was in a panic, looking you both over to assess for any damage. Dorothea was a mess as she burst into tears and you quickly reached over to grab hold of her hand.

"We're alright," you told the driver through your frazzled nerves. Looking down, you saw what had caused the glass window to shatter: a large red brick.

"I knew it! I knew it," Dorothea wailed. "Someone's been following us! They want to hurt us!"

"I-I'm sure there's a logical explanation," you said. You had to stay strong for Dorothea's sake. "It was probably a group of children roughhousing. I'm sure this was an acci---"

"Why would children be throwing bricks! Look!" She motioned out towards the open carriage door. "There's no one out there! Whoever did this must have made a run for it so they wouldn't be caught!"

No matter what you said, Dorothea refused to calm down and honestly you couldn't blame her; not even you believed your half baked explanations. Turning to the driver, you told him to get you both back to the Madison Manor as quickly as possible. Any thought of continuing to ask for donations was out of the question. You needed to get to safety. 

As the felt yourself being taken along road the tree lined Lee residence and pink satin consumed your mind. There was no mistaking it; the material certainly belonged to a dress. The real question was who did the dress belong to?

A chill ran up your spine as you remembered Sarah Franklin's words from a few days prior. Was she the one who did this?


	10. Worries To Bring Us Together

You placed a comforting hand on Dorothea as your thoughts raced endlessly. It wasn't until you the carriage come to a jolting stop that you realized you were back at Madison Manor. The driver began to scream for James and Thomas until his voice became hoarse. Before you could snap out of your stupor, the carriage door tore open and you felt a pair of hands on your shoulders. They lifted you out of your seat with hardly any effort and your legs struggled to steady themselves on the ground. Looking up, you were met with a frantic looking Thomas.

"What happened?! Are you alright?!" His grip on you tightened and you felt yourself flinch under the pressure. Thomas must have noticed this as you felt his hands loosen up. You could see James trying to console a still frightened Dorothea while examining the damage done by the brick. You felt your blood turn cold as you noticed the jewelry box sitting under the seat, just a few inches away from the brick.

"I'm alright," you said weakly. You were the complete opposite of alright. A vengeful, hateful girl had it out for you and now there was a chance of the boys finding the box. "We were on our way back from town when---"

You couldn't finish before Dorothea interrupted. "Someone attacked us! They were trying to maim us with a brick!" She brought her hands to her cheeks and began to wipe her tears.

Wasting no time, Thomas turned towards the driver. "What do you know about this?" His voice was curt and harsh, making the driver take a fearful step back.

"Nothing, sir! I didn't see anyone coming near the carriage, I swear!"

"Whoever did this must have been taking cover near the woods by the door," James reasoned while doing his best to remain calm. "But who would want to do this?"

"Probably some thieves looking to steal something valuable," Thomas said between clenched teeth. "They'll pay for this. I'll send someone to scan through every inch of the woods if I have to."

For a split second, you felt his hold on you tighten again. Placing your hands over his, you lifted them off your shoulders and held them in the space between you. "A search like that would take days. The culprit will be long gone by then."

His eyes moved up and down your body. "But we have no other leads. Are you sure you're alright?" The panic was beginning to seep into his voice. 

"I promise I'm fine. Honestly I'm more worried about Dorothea," you said while looking over at your friend. Her face was buried in James' chest as he rubbed her back soothingly. The guilt you felt was horrid. It was because of you that she was going through all this.

As you continued to stare at your friend, James looked up and met your eyes for a split second. Before you could say anything, he turned to Thomas. "It's too dangerous to be out after dark. You and (y/n) should get back home while the sun is still out."

Thomas' warm hands squeezed your own before dropping down to his sides. "You're right. I'll go get the carriage."

Your hands subconsciously rubbed together as you watched Thomas rush over to where his driver was waiting. Without taking your eyes off him, you spoke to James. "Promise me you'll take care of Dorothea."

"Of course I will. Promise me the two of you will get back safely."

Feeling your throat tighten, you forced yourself to respond. The reality was that you had no say in whether or not you got back in one piece. "I promise."

Thankfully, the carriage pulled up next to you within the next few seconds. Thomas held his hand out to you through the open door and you let him lift you into your seat. Just as he waved to James and closed the door, the driver got the horse into a steady trot.

Looking down at the floor, you prayed for an uneventful journey home. There was only so much unexpected drama you could handle and the last thing you needed was for Thomas to be directly involved in the cross fire between you and...

Your shoulders slumped as you mentally shook yourself. It wasn't fair or wise to pin this whole thing on Sarah. Even though she was the most likely culprit, you had no proof she was the one who through that brick. Besides, back at the Washington Estate she mentioned that there were _dozens_ of girls who had it out for you. As of this moment every girl in town who was around your age was a suspect. With the little information you had now it was impossible to figure out who had done this.

Once again, your thoughts were disrupted, but this time it wasn't your doing. You felt something push you to the right and when you looked up you were being firmly pressed against Thomas' side. Your brows furrowed as you stared up at his face, which was turned away towards the window. One of his arms was holding back the thick curtain covering it while the other was steadily holding you in place.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone out there," he said quietly.

"Thomas, are you okay?" You tried to sit up, but his arm wouldn't budge.

"Stay down. Me not seeing anyone doesn't mean there isn't anybody there," he told you. "Did you notice anyone suspicious near you when you were in town?"

Once again the pale rose fabric fluttering between the trees came into mind. "No, everything was fine up until well...you know."

Looking away from the window, Thomas stared down at you with an intensity you had never seen before. "Are you sure? I need a lead to work off of. How else am I supposed to find the person who did this?" Running a hand through his hair, he closed his eyes in frustration. "It doesn't even have to be a visual lead. Did you hear anything?"

You felt yourself shrink down. In all the years you'd known him you'd never seen him so distraught. Hesitantly, you gave him a new bit of information. "Well, Dorothea did mention a few times that she felt like we were being watched..."

"She did?" Suddenly, his hands were back on your shoulders, forcing your body to face him. "I need you to tell me exactly where you two went. If we retrace your steps we're bound to find someone who knows something."

For a moment you forgot how to breathe. You had just slipped up in the worst possible way. If you lied and told him the two of you had visited some shops a quick check in with James' driver would confirm you were lying. You and Dorothea never even came up with a more concrete lie beyond telling the boys you were going into town.

"We," your eyes desperately wanted to turn away from Thomas', but you couldn't afford to lose your nerve. It was in your best interest to stick as close to the truth as possible. "We never made it to any shops. We thought it'd be a good idea to get the input of other Ladies for wedding inspiration," you said. "We stopped by Lady Lee and Lady Mulligan's homes. We chatted for a bit, had tea, and then went on our way."

"Then I'll have to stop by their homes to ask if they saw anything suspicious," Thomas reasoned.

"You really don't have to do that," you gushed. "We shouldn't bother them with our problems. Besides, it isn't as if Dorothea and I were hurt. Nothing was stolen. I really think we should put this behind us."

"How can you be so nonchalant about all this?! This is a lot more serious than you're making it out to be! What if next time you _do_ get hurt? We need to find out who did this before things escalate!"

Unable to keep his cool any longer, Thomas let you go and resumed his position facing the window. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you sank down in your seat and wondered what you were going to do. Thomas was going to question Lady Lee and Mulligan, Dorothea's jewelry box was still sitting in plain sight, and now there was a sudden increase in people you couldn't trust. Everything felt like it was unraveling in front of you and there was absolutely nothing you could do.

____________________

The carriage pulled into Jefferson Manor just as the last few rays of light were disappearing below the horizon. You would have been back ages ago, but Thomas insisted on taking the long way home. He didn't want to risk taking the much faster route near the woods.

Stepping out, you made a beeline for the door, but Thomas' voice stopped you.

"Dinner should be starting soon. It'll be the perfect time to fill father in on what---"

Whipping around, you cut him off. "Please don't tell your father. He's a busy man and we shouldn't put even more on his plate." The last thing you needed was for Lord Jefferson to be added to the list of people you had to lie to and sneak around. "Besides, today has me too frazzled to sit through dinner. I just want to rest."

That much was true. All this worrying and attempted damage control was taking a toll on you. Your mind was fried and the longer you thought about your current situation the more it felt like you were drowning.

Thankfully, Thomas didn't try to stop you. You marched through the front door and stalked up the stairs in silence. Not a single thought floated around your head as your body moved to your room on auto pilot. Locking the door, you collapsed into bed, fully ready to lose yourself in some much needed sleep.

But sleep never came. Instead, you stared blankly up at the ceiling with your tired eyes. Between your thoughtless mind and the distant sound of workers roaming around the Manor it truly felt like you were trapped in a world with no one but yourself.

As time passed, the outside world's noise became quieter and quieter. Strangely, you didn't seem to feel the passage of time. It was just you, the ceiling, the inevitable doom that any moment now everything you had been trying to accomplish was going to go up in flames. Sighing through your nose, you braced yourself for Thomas to come bursting in after discovering the truth of what you had been doing.

And you nearly jumped out of your skin when the door was thrown open and your name was whispered in a hissed tone.

Your hands slammed against your mouth to cover your scream as your eyes darted to your bedroom door, which was still locked. Confused, you sat up and surveyed the room, only to see Alexander squeeze himself out from between the wall and vanity. His mouth was set in a frown and a few stray hair strands stuck to his face. Walking up next to you, he crossed his arms.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for at least an hour," he complained while trying to keep his voice low. "Did you just forget all about our meeting?"

"Oh no," your hands flew up to touch the crescent earrings you were wearing. "I'm so sorry, Alexander."

He opened his mouth, presumably to let out more of his frustration, but his annoyed expression suddenly turned blank. Blinking, he looked you up and down. "Are you alright? You look horrible."

Your arms folded together right below your chest. As you hugged yourself, you became hyper aware of how exhausted your body was. "Well, aren't you one for compliments," you muttered sarcastically before meeting his gaze. "We've got problems. Lots and lots of problems." Running a hand down your face, you sighed. "We should move down into the stairwell to talk. I don't want anyone to hear us."

"I'm not trying to offend you, but you really don't look like you should be getting up. Everyone's asleep so I doubt we'll be caught," Alexander reasoned. "But if you'd like I could get you a cold washcloth to put over your eyes. They're almost bloodshot." 

"No, it's fine. But are you sure everyone is asleep?" Your eyes moved to the crack between your bedroom door and the floor. Sure enough, you could see the shoes of the worker posted at your door. Alexander followed your gaze and his brows knit together. Grabbing the chair by the vanity, he moved it up to the edge of your bed before taking a seat.

"You're in no condition to navigate the stairwell. The last thing we need is for you to collapse down there. As long as we whisper at this distance we'll be fine so please just tell me what these problems are."

After taking one last look at the door you nodded. "Alright. Well the day started out normal enough. Dorothea and I managed to get out of the house and collect donations." You thought for a second and shook your head. "Well, we managed to get _a_ donation. Lady Lee was surprisingly eager to help us out."

"Really? How much did she give? Did she say anything?" Alexander was practically bursting out of his seat.

Holding up your hand, you motioned for him to calm down. "She gave two checks that were each worth a thousand dollars, but that isn't the point. When we first arrived Dorothea told me she thought she saw something moving between the trees. I brushed her off at first, but she brought it up again when we were leaving. She felt like we were being watched."

Confused, Alexander straightened his back. "Sorry, but I don't understand how Dorothea's feelings could cause us trouble."

"The problem is that they weren't just unwarranted feelings. Right before we left I saw something move in the trees lining Lady Lee's home. It was the skirt of a dress, pale rose in color," you told him. "At first I tried to push it out of my mind, but after we decided to head back home someone threw a brick into our carriage."

Alexander's body tensed. "You were attacked?"

Numbly, you nodded. "Thankfully we weren't hurt, but between Dorothea's feelings, what I saw, and what happened back at the Washington Estate---"

"You think Sarah has something to do with this."

Even though it wasn't a question you nodded. "Her, or some other girl who wants to have a chance with Thomas." Biting your lip, you braced yourself to tell him the part that would have both of you in hot water. "Everything happened so fast after we were attacked. We got back to Madison Manor and Thomas was in a panic. Everyone was," you recalled. "Dorothea and I didn't have time to hide the jewelry box we put the checks in."

"Which means anyone could find them." Alexander's mouth was set in a firm line. "Well, we certainly _are_ in trouble. What are we going to do?"

Shutting your eyes, you internally screamed at how helpless you were. There was nothing you _could_ do. Unless you went back to Madison Manor and took the box yourself it would just sit there, waiting to be discovered. God, for all you knew it might have already been found by James or the driver or someone else you haven't accounted for. Everything was a disaster and you had no idea how you were going to fix it.

Sensing you growing fear and frustration, Alexander spoke in a soothing tone. "You've been through enough stress for one day. For now lets forget about all this and get some rest."

"I don't think I can rest after everything that's happened." You felt the muscles in your neck tense. Your head stiffly moved at the unpleasant sensation. "I'll probably end up staring at the ceiling until morning."

"Are you afraid that Sarah or some other girl is going to try to hurt you in the middle of the night?"

Your shoulders soon tensed along with your neck. "No, but thank you for putting that thought into my mind." They wouldn't really be foolish enough to sneak into the Manor to do something to you, would they? There were guards posted at the gates and no one outside the Manor would know which room is yours. Then again, it wasn't as if you personally knew these girls. Maybe one of them really was crazy enough to come here under the cover of night.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make things worse," he apologized.

"It's fine. I might be a lost cause, but there's still a chance you could get some rest. You should go," you said while laying back down on the bed.

To your surprise, Alexander made no move to leave. "I can't just leave you like this. We're partners in this little operation after all." Shifting in the chair, he got as comfortable as he could. "I'm not moving until you're asleep. If things start to go south from here you'll need your strength."

"What about you? You'll need strength as well."

The corners of his lips cocked up in a small smile. "You know I'm used to not getting much rest either way. I'll be fine, but if you're really that worried you'd hurry and sleep so I can go get some rest of my own."

"Well I'd hate to be the cause of your exhaustion even thought it'd technically be your own fault for being too stubborn to leave," you teased. "You can stay, but turn the other way. I doubt I'll sleep either way, but it'll be a lot harder to do if I know someone's watching me."

You watched him turn in his chair until he was facing the wall. Getting under the covers, you did your best to find a comfortable position which was made quite difficult by the fact that you were still wearing your day dress. Still, you knew it wasn't beneficial to keep tossing and turning, so you settled down on your side. From your position, you could see the rays of moonlight seeping in from behind the curtains. Judging from their position it had to be at least 2 a.m.

Closing your eyes, you focused on the relaxing softness of the mattress and the breathing of the only person you could fully trust.


	11. Take Me For A Ride

A warm sensation spread over the side of your face, causing you to hum in content. Shifting ever so slightly, you opened your eyes as the first few rays of sunlight touched the land, marking the start of a new day. You felt surprisingly well rested despite only getting around four hours of sleep. Even though the stress of the day before still hung in the back of your mind you felt you had the strength to face it. 

Slipping out of bed, you changed into a clean dress and began your usual morning routine of cleaning yourself up. Once you were ready, you left your room and made a beeline for the stairs. After skipping out on dinner you were absolutely famished. You needed to get some fuel into your system just in case things got out of hand.

The Manor wasn't very busy this early in the morning. Only a handful of maids were milling about, doing simple tasks such as dusting and straightening furniture. This was a small blessing in your eyes. With everything so calm you could feel yourself relax more and more. Certainly if things were this peaceful nothing horrible could have happened. For the time being you could let yourself believe that all your sneaking around had yet to be discovered.

Once you reached the bottom of the stairs, however, you saw something that stopped you in your tracks. Lord Jefferson handed a large envelope to Alexander, who promptly placed it inside the satchel hanging from his side. Both men were exchanging serious looks as the Lord finally spoke.

"Try to be careful Alexander. We don't know whether or not this will happen again," he warned. Without missing a beat, Alexander lowered his head in respect.

"Don't worry about me, my Lord, I promise I'll be fine. I doubt anyone would want to attack me. I have nothing of value on my person and I won't exactly be traveling in a flashy manner." His tone was even and calm, which the complete opposite of what you were now feeling.

Heat spread over your face as you fully digested what had just been said. There was only one explanation as to why the Lord and Alexander would suddenly be speaking about the possibility of being attacked while out of the Manor: Thomas, against your wishes, had told his father everything.

"Is everything alright?"

The men jumped at the sound of your voice. Now, fully aware of your presence, they stared at you with a mixture of surprise and worry.

"(Y/n)? What are you doing up so early?" The Lord took a step towards you while looking you up and down. "You should have a seat. After everything you went through yesterday you'll need to regain your strength."

You gave him a practiced smile. "That won't be necessary. I've already regained a bit of energy." You let your eyes shift away from the Lord's gaze and land right on the satchel. "Are you sending Alexander away on an errand?"

Sighing, the Lord gave a hesitant nod. "I suppose you could think about it in those terms, but this is a bit more important that a simple errand. Now that we know there's a certain degree of danger within the town we need to eliminate it as soon as possible. None of us want you to be put in a situation like yesterday's ever again." Concern was dripping from the Lord's voice as he explained. "Thomas suggested we involve all the families of the sector into this matter. With all of us working together it will be much easier to not only find the culprits who tried to harm you, but to put a stop to any future thefts."

You had to bite the inside of your cheeks to stop yourself from groaning. This was a classic move by Thomas; he just had to go and blow things out of proportion. No matter how pointless you thought it was, you would've eventually accepted the fact that he wanted to find the identity of the person who attacked you, but involving the whole sector was downright demented. 

"So you're sending Alexander to get the word out to everyone?" Your body weight anxiously shifted. 

"For now I'm only sending a message to the Washington family," the Lord explained. "As I said, Thomas was adamant about involving all the families, but these things need to be handled responsibly. News like this has the potential to start a panic, so it's best to only let a few people know what's happened. My hope is that our resources combined with those of the Washington family will be enough to put a stop to all this."

Well, that all sounded reasonable enough, but you were still concerned. "And what happens if the two families can't handle it?"

"Then we'll slowly let the others know."

Taking a deep breath, you steadied your emotions. This whole ordeal had taken a bad turn, but you weren't past the point of no return just yet. As of right now, your fate was in the hands of the Washington family. Gathering all the resolve you had left, you lifted your head and squared your shoulders. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to accompany Alexander to the Washington Estate." 

The Lord's eye's widened in shock before looking around in a disoriented haze. He obviously hadn't expected you to ask for such a thing. "I'm---it's dangerous, (y/n). You should stay here where it's safe. I'd never forgive myself if something else happened to you."

You faced him head on. "I understand your concern, but I'm the only one here who experienced the attack first hand. I might be able to provide some insight. Please sir, I want to be of some use."

"I'm sorry, but I simply can't allow it," the Lord said. "The risks are too high."

Frowning, you decided to let him feel the full force of your debating power. "And how will the risks ever be diminished if we're too afraid to take some chances? I can provide a first person account of everything that happened during the attack and that insight can't be overlooked. It's not as though I can stay locked up in the Manor for the rest of the summer while everyone is off searching for the attacker. Besides, bringing me along might prove to be a blessing in disguise. If my presence means we have a higher chance of being attacked then why not use me as bait?"

"Offering your services as bait is reckless," the Lord argued. "I agree that the information you could provide about the attack is valuable, but there's no need to send you to the Washington Estate when you can stay here and tell me everything that happened."

Suddenly, Alexander spoke up. "But the idea of using live bait is an interesting one. A lone guard could follow us to the Estate while keeping a safe distance. If anything bad were to happen we'd have protection."

The Lord sighed. "Interesting in theory, but in practice? A number of things could go wrong."

"Forgive me my Lord, but I think the possibility of success outweighs the risk. Besides, the Jefferson family is a proud one. Taking (y/n) along would carry a message of strength, signifying that no amount of fear mongering will have the Jeffersons hiding away."

From the way his body language changed, you could tell Alexander had hit the Lord's sweet spot with his words. Deciding to build off of this good traction, you added in your last bit of input. "Besides, if I stop going out the other families in town will begin to wonder why. A lot of talk could start to go around."

A long, heavy sigh escaped the Lord. "You two do have a point and, although I still don't think it's the best course of action, I'll allow you to accompany Alexander. Let me inform one of the guards of this new plan." Reluctantly, the Lord stepped out of the Manor to find a guard. Once he was out of sight, you exchanged smiles with Alexander.

"Good work," you complimented. "For a moment there I was worried he wouldn't budge."

"It was nothing really, but I've got to admit I'm surprised you're so set on coming along. After seeing you last night I didn't think you'd be able to pull yourself together so quickly," he admitted.

You frowned. "Did I really look that bad?"

His gaze fell from yours in embarrassment. "I don't mean you looked completely horrible, just exhausted and mentally drained," he rambled, trying his best not to be offensive. He shifted uncomfortably before clearing his throat. "But that doesn't really matter now, does it? You seem to be doing much better." His fingers soon began to tap the satchel at his side. "Although, I am curious as to why you want to come along. What are you going to tell Lord Washington?"

Gathering your resolve, you spoke with confidence. "The truth."

At that moment, the Lord returned. "The guard is getting the horses ready. Please, be safe and come back here at the first sign of danger," he pleaded. Then, head turned down towards the floor, he disappeared deep into the Manor.

Alexander turned to you with knitted brows. "He really doesn't want you to go through with this."

"I know," you sighed. "But what other choice do I have? Come on, we should be on our way." Turning on your heel, you took a step towards the door.

"Wait."

You paused, looking back in time to see Alexander's hand hovering uncomfortably in the air. There was a flash of uncertainty in his eyes before his hand fell back to his side. Your gaze shifted from his hand to his eyes quizzically until he finally spoke.

"You said you were going to tell Lord Washington the truth, but you haven't admitted the whole truth to anyone but me. I'm not saying you should lie, but I don't quite understand why you're so trusting of a man you've barely had any interaction with."

Eyes cast downwards, you gave a weak shrug. "I suppose I'm tired of having to jump through hoops. If Lord Washington can get all this commotion about the attacker to calm down it'll be one less problem to worry about. It's in our best interest to make sure he succeeds. Now, we can't stall any longer. If we keep this up we'll never get to the Washington Estate."

Thankfully, Alexander didn't try to stop you from walking out the door this time. Instead, he followed closely behind you as you passed by the guard who would be tailing you. He was already on his horse and he had another already saddled and ready to go just a few feet ahead.

You hesitated for a second as you truly took in the horse you would be riding. It was in good health and would certainly be sturdy and fast, but you weren't expecting it to be so large. The top of your head was shorter than the horse's shoulder by quite a few inches and you had no clue how you were supposed to mount it.

Sensing your pause, Alexander shot you a concerned look. "Haven't you ridden before?"

"Not exactly," you admitted as your hands wrung together. Being so close to the beast was a bit nerve-wracking, but surely riding wouldn't be that difficult. In theory all you had to do was avoid falling off and let the horse do all the work. "But I'm sure I'll be fine."

From his long winded sigh, you could tell Alexander had no faith in your prospects as a rider. "It's a good thing we're riding together, then. Here, I'll get on first and pull you up." Within the next second, he was gracefully swinging himself onto the horse. The movement was so controlled that the animal remained perfectly still through the whole process.

Once Alexander offered you his hand, you pushed all your hesitation aside and took it with confidence. He effortlessly lifted you off the ground and onto the saddle, where you were pressed against the saddle's horn and his chest. You did your best to adjust yourself into a comfortable position before he took the reigns and got the horse into a steady trot.

All too soon, you felt your body begin to slide down the left side of the saddle. Grabbing the horn to steady yourself, you squeezed your thighs together to keep your body from slipping. This proved to be an uncomfortable solution and you found yourself dreading the long journey ahead.

"There isn't any need to be so tense. I'll steady you if you begin to fall."

True to his word, Alexander's arm quickly wrapped around your waist and got you back on your balancing center. Your legs relaxed a bit, taking away a good chunk of discomfort.

"Thank you, but I don't want to burden you. I'll be able to keep myself balanced from here on out." With no prior riding experience, the least you could do was keep yourself on the saddle since you wouldn't be able to take over steering the horse.

There wasn't another word exchanged between the two of you for the rest of the journey. Alexander was too busy keeping the horse on course while you were occupied with looking between the trees and into the distance for anything that seemed out of place. Thankfully, it was a quiet morning and it seemed no one was out and about just yet. It was just the two of you, the horse, and the fresh breeze. It truly felt like a lazy summer day.

The scent of trees and wildflowers filled you with a comfort you hadn't realized you'd been deprived of. The sun's rays warmed up your skin and the horse's trot had become hypnotic. Closing your eyes, you let a feeling a bliss wash over you. It felt like ages since the last time you allowed yourself to relax. With things being so peaceful you could almost trick yourself into believing that there was nothing wrong with the world.

But, unfortunately, reality had a way of pulling in even the least willing of victims. Time passed by at a seemingly idle pace, but all too soon you found the afternoon sun shining overhead as the Washington Estate came into view. The full brunt of your situation came rushing back and your breath suddenly grew heavy. 

It was time to take care of business.


End file.
